Throughput reached 141.770 million metric tons (MMT) in the January to July period versus the 128.217 MMT logged a year ago. Foreign cargo throughput increased by 12%, while domestic traffic rose by 9%.
Meanwhile, passenger volume grew 11% to 42.492 million for the January-July period from 38.213 million last year, owing to the increased use of ships for travel purposes.
The ports of Panay, National Capital Region North, Mindoro, Agusan, and Negros Oriental saw the largest growth in cargo volume, with North Harbor topping the list in terms of domestic boxes handled.
Ship-calls increased by 9% to 255,037 for the period from 234,468 in 2015. Domestic and foreign ship-calls were up by 8.45% and 21.91%, respectively.
Combined yard utilization at the two Manila ports is at 40%. "With this kind of yard utilization, we can say that Philippine ports are ready to handle the expected increase in the volume of cargo due to the run-up to Christmas," PPA General Manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago said.
