BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Cargo throughput and container throughput of Chinese major ports in March have resumed to more than 90 percent of the level in the same period last year, the China Ports & Harbours Association (CPHA) said on Wednesday.
China's manufacturing sector has accelerated production resumption, with 98.6 percent of major industrial firms nationwide having resumed work as of March 28, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Monday.
As manufacturing production resumed at a faster pace, the container throughput of top 8 hub ports in China increased 3.4 percent on a weekly basis in the period from March 23 to 29, with Dalian and Guangzhou recording more than 25 percent growth.
With logistics of petrochemical industry improving, crude oil throughput at Chinese major ports grew 3.5 percent from the previous week, said the association. The growth of crude oil throughput at the key ports was mainly due to the rising refined oil demand and the growing crude oil purchases by refineries and traders given the tumbling global oil prices, said the CPHA.
In the week from March 23 to 29, the coal throughput at Qinghuangdao and Shenhua Huanghua Ports, two major coal ports in China, rose 3.9 percent from the previous week, thanks to the rising downstream demand.
As the steel market was recovering, the iron ore throughput at China’s key ports grew 6.3 percent from the previous week, according to the association.
As the ports play a key role in maintaining smooth operation of global industry chain and supply chain, Chinese ports have taken necessary preventive measures against the COVID-19 epidemic, said the association.
More than 50 percent of ports in central China’s Hubei resumed normal operations. Except Hubei, the average work resumption rate of Chinese ports has surpassed 95 percent by far. (Contributed by Wu Congsi, Cao Jie)
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