Cargo throughput, profits of ports, railways, cranking up in Q1 in China

China’s major ports and rail lines rebounded strongly in the first quarter of 2023 as the nation emerged from the pandemic.

Analysts said that the rebound was driven by rising domestic consumption, upgraded transport services and improved market expectations, despite high global inflation and weak demand abroad.

Hebei Port Group Co, a major transportation hub in North China, recently announced that first-quarter cargo throughput reached 194 million tons, up 14.1 percent year-on-year. Total profits topped 747 million yuan ($109 million), up 20.1 percent, the group said.

In South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Beibu Gulf Port Group’s cargo throughput expanded 5.5 percent, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

In addition to a robust market recovery, the port’s efficiency also drove its growth. Beibu Gulf Port Group said that the waiting time of container ships fell by 44 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year.

Beibu Gulf and other ports said that clearing procedures have also become more efficient.

Railway freight volume, another metric of economic growth, also boomed in the first quarter, when 970 million tons of goods were delivered, a year-on-year gain of 2.3 percent, according to China Railway Co.

There is a clear trend showing the Chinese economy is rapidly recovering and the growth in cargo transport is a direct reflection of the growth, He Dengcai, deputy director of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP), told the Global Times on Sunday.

The transport recovery is backed up by the rising demand of China’s major commodities market. The China Bulk Merchandise Index stood at 103.4 in March, reaching a 32-month high, according to the CFLP.

Wu Minghua, a veteran shipping sector analyst, told the Global Times on Sunday that the transport recovery was within expectations after China’s downgraded pandemic response in December.

“The transport industry is a leading indicator of economic growth and there will be a much stronger recovery in the second half of 2023, as production at factories and investors’ confidence continues to pick up,” Wu said.

The improvement in the logistics sector comes along with the recovery of China’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which play a major role in lifting domestic job market and economic growth.

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Index, based on a survey of 3,000 SMEs from eight premium industries, came in at 89.3 in the first quarter, up from 88 in the fourth quarter of 2022, reversing a downtrend that had persisted since the second quarter of 2021, official data showed.

Elevated inflation in the US and Europe, which are important markets for many Chinese goods, has posed uncertainties for trade. But the impact is so far limited, thanks to China’s competitive products and resilient supply chains, and the country’s advanced transport system also played a part, experts said.
Source: Global Times