Cosco sees Piraeus container traffic recover
Container handling at the two terminals operated by Cosco subsidiary Piraeus Container Terminal (PCT) rebounded in August after a decline in July, the first full month during which the capital controls were in effect.
According to data released in Hong Kong by Cosco Pacific, PCT handled 249,100 containers last month, against 242,100 in August 2014, recording an annual increase of 2.9 percent. In the first eight months of the year, terminals II and III of Piraeus port cleared 2.01 million containers, compared with 1.99 million in the January-August 2014 period, chalking up annual growth of 0.7 percent.
Consequently, the slight decline that started in June and continued in July – caused by the economic uncertainty, the bank holiday and the introduction of the capital controls – appears to have come to an end. In July PCT handled 280,600 containers, which was 5,000 fewer units than a year earlier, or a drop of 1.7 percent. In June the decline had amounted to 2.9 percent, with 252,700 containers handled against 260,300 in June 2014.
As imports from third countries revert to normal with the gradual easing of the capital controls, PCT is hoping that the recovery will continue, despite the concerns raised by the announcement of the snap elections.
