Last year, the ports of Tokyo and Nagoya experienced slight increases while Osaka and Yokohama reported marginal drops. The port of Kobe continues to rebuild and recover from the devastation caused by the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake and happily reports that despite flat traffic at the start of 2015 there are pleasing rises in cargo traffic in April and May with the port recording 7.7% and 2% rises respectively.
Tokyo
- throughput in 2014: 4,389,854 TEU – up 0.7%
- port welcomes new service calls
- new equipment to boost performance
According to the 2014 provisional figures, the Port of Tokyo handled 4,894,511 TEU up 0.7% from 4,860,784 TEU handled in 2013. The port of Tokyo is Japan’s top container port, handling over 20% of the country’s total overseas container traffic. The Port of Tokyo opened on May 20, 1941, as an international trade port. Today, as the international port handling the country’s largest number of foreign trade container units, and as the hub port for domestic maritime shipping, Tokyo has grown to serve as an indispensable lifeline supporting the National Capital Region’s industry and lives of the 40 million residents. The Port of Tokyo Seaside Road forms an important roadway network that helps to revitalise the economy of entire Tokyo, stimulating the development of the Waterfront Urban Subcenter and other waterfront areas and facilitating port distribution. Phase II Tokyo Port Seaside Road opened in February 2012, as a seaside road to form a roadway network that stimulates the development of the waterfront area and facilities port distribution between the terminals and the hinterland of the Port of Tokyo. Decentralisation of traffic has been recognised by subsequent investigation. New container terminals will be constructed in the Outer Central Breakwater Reclamation Area and the New Waste Disposal Area to serve key navigation routes and coastal routes from Asia. In the Outer Central Breakwater Reclamation Area Container Terminal, 2 berths are scheduled to be completed this coming year with a depth alongside of 11m and 16m. The port authority has ordered 3 container gantry cranes (16 rows) and 3 container gantry cranes (22 rows) – both for delivery in 2017 for the new container terminals. Last year, Tokyo welcomed some new services; 2 Asian container service routes, 2 Korean container service routes, 5 Chinese routes and 1 North American route. Other container handling equipment on order are 2 container gantry cranes (20 rows) for the Oi Container Terminal and 1 container gantry crane (13 rows) for the Shinagawa Container Terminal both with delivery scheduled for March, 2016. In April 2015, 3 new container gantry cranes (21 rows) went in service at the Oi Container Terminal.
Yokohama
- throughput in 2014: 2,880,029 TEU – down 0.3%
- drop in container traffic expected for 2015
- modernised Honmoku D4 container terminal started operations
Predictions for container volumes for the port of Yokohama seem to be quite difficult. Over the years, we have seen both huge drops and increases on container throughput. After a surge in container volumes in 2012, the port saw container throughput dwindle to 2.9 million TEU in 2013 – down 5.4% compared to the year before when it handled just over 3 million TEU. For 2014, container throughput dropped slightly by 0.3% as the port tries to maintain its container throughput. The stronger yen also affected Japanese exports as it made Japanese products more expensive in foreign markets. As a result some of the companies moved their production facilities overseas, while distribution centres moved out of the region due to high costs compared to other Japanese ports. Hopes were that container throughput figures for Yokohama in 2014 might be higher but a general slowdown in China – Yokohama’s biggest trading partner – has obviously compromised this. Despite the fact that the country’s ports remain dogged by inefficiencies and high labour costs the port of Yokohama is working hard to defy this image and has modernised Honmoku D4 container terminal which started operations, and will soon be followed by Minami Honmuku MC-3 and MC-4 container terminals. Expectations are that container throughput for 2015 might be considerably lower as a result of the financial crisis in China. In July 2015, the port announced that cargo volumes dropped for the month of June by 5% to 9.67 million tonnes while container throughput dropped 5.3% to 210,069 TEU to the same month in 2014. The port also said that both exports (-4.2%) and imports -6.6%) were down compared to June 2014
Nagoya
- throughput in 2014: 2,738,244 TEU – up 1.1%
- investments planned
- access to East Channel widened and deepened
In 2014, container throughput at the Japanese Port of Nagoya was 2.7 million TEU, growing by 1.1% over the previous year when it handled 2.7 million TEU. With outgoings of 1,376,402 TEU and incomings of 1,361,842 TEU, container trade at the Port of Nagoya shows a good balance. Containerised cargo trade reached 49.35 million tonnes (up 1% compared to the year before). To strengthen international competitiveness and support regional economic activities, a number of investments are planned for the next few years. To improve the accessibility of the port, the width of the East Channel was increased to 580m and dredged to a depth of 16m, the West Channel to a width of 400-540m and depth of 14m, and the Central Channel to a width of 350m and depth of 12-16m. There are 4 container terminals at the Tobishima Pier. The Tobishima Pier South Side Container Terminal opened its first berth in 2005 and its second berth in 2008. These two berths are operated with 6 Super-Post-Panamax quay cranes capable of reaching 22 rows of containers on deck, 24 remote-controlled automated RTGs and 33 AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles). A third berth is planned adjacent to these 2 berths and total length will be 1,050m with a depth of 16m alongside when it is completed. For geographical reasons, these container berths are equipped with quake-resistant structures. The Port’s hinterland is home to Japan’s automobile industry. Nagoya is the No. 1 automobile exporting port in Japan, shipping approximately 1.5 million completed automobiles. The port also plays a major role as a point of entry to Japan, through its connections with approximately 160 countries around the world.
Kobe
- Throughput in 2014: 2,596,500 TEU
- Traffic surge of 10% In December 2014
- April 2015 recorded 7.7% rise in traffic
Last year, Kobe handled an estimated total of 2.596 million TEU – up slightly at 1.7% compared to 2013 when it handled 2.55 million TEU. The slight decrease in container throughput might be caused by the efforts the port of Busan in North Korea is making in attracting more and more shipping lines that normally would call at Kobe. Both import and export containerised cargo volumes for the port were stable in 2014. In December 2014, the port saw cargo traffic surge 10% from the previous year to 8.357 million tonnes. Of the 8.357 million tonnes, 4.342 million tonnes came from foreign trade – up 2.9% from a year earlier, and the remaining 4.015 million tonnes came from domestic trade, up a huge 19%. Kobe was once Japan’s busiest port, but it is still recovering from the earthquake (and tsunami) that hit Japan in 2011 followed by the radiation leak of the Fukushima nuclear power plant as shipping lines opted to re-route their calls to other Japanese ports. Therefore the government is planning more investments in port infrastructure and equipment over the next couple of years. It has started dredging the channels to a
n overall depth of 16m in order for the port to handle larger container vessels in the future. It has also invested heavily in a container terminal – Rokko Island RC-6/7 and is planning to include STS cranes on berth PC15-PC17 capable of handling 22 rows of containers in the second phase of developing the terminal. In January 2015, container throughput at Kobe increased 0.6% to 201,822 TEU compared to the same month in 2014.
Osaka
- throughput in 2014: 2,437,550 TEU – down 1.9%
- domestic container traffic down 9.4%
- Work on port infrastructure continues
The port of Osaka is Japan’s fifth-largest container port after Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya and Kobe.
In 2014, the port saw container throughput slip 1.9% by handling 2.44 million TEU compared to 2.485 million TEU the year before. In the first six months of 2014, container traffic saw an increase of 4.5% to 1.08 million TEU compared to the same period in 2013. The combined volume of international and domestic containers reached 1,216,329 TEU – up 3%. The slight decrease in container flows was contributed to a consumption tax increase in Japan, which might have slow-downed consumer spending, as well as the depreciation of the yen, which has impacted on the purchasing power of Japanese consumers. Osaka exported and imported 2,173,763 TEU – down 0.9% compared to the year before. An additional 263,786 TEU of domestic containers were moved to and from other ports in Japan – down 9.4%. In 2014, the port handled a total of 2.438 million TEU – down 1.9% compared to the year before when it handled 2.4385 million TEU. Osaka Port Corporation – the port operator – was privatised by the policy of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in 2011. And, Osaka Port Corporation was integrated with Kobe Port Terminal Corporation in October 2014. This privatisation and integration have resulted in a more flexible management for new business, efficient operations and a better service, making Osaka more competitive on a global scale. Work on port infrastructure continues and the port started the construction work on extending wharf C12 from 400m to a total length of 650m in 2013.