ATI ready for holidays

Listed Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) said it was ready to handle the upcoming holiday rush at its flagship Manila South Harbor port.

ATI, which operates cargo ports in Manila and Batangas, said in a statement this was due to more efficient operations and a terminal  booking system for trucks.

“Manila South Harbor, one of two international gateway ports into the country’s capital, is more than ready and capable of handling the growing international container volumes at the Port of Manila, including the fourth quarter cargo rush normally associated with the holiday season,” ATI said in a statement.

The transportation department said earlier there was always the risk of port congestion during the Christmas season, a period of high demand for imported goods.

The Philippine Ports Authority nevertheless said last month that Manila’s ports were operating efficiently, and that plans were in place to combat any congestion.

ATI, meanwhile, said its Manila operations were already averaging “above the industry standard of 25 gross moves per crane per hour (GMPH), and even recorded world-class levels of over 30 GMPH in previous months.”

ATI said this was comparable to the production of leading global ports in Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Production is measured by how many containers a crane moves from ship to shore per hour.

Higher GMPH reflects efficient handling of containers at berth, which leads to faster turnaround of ships and trucks.

The company booked a net income of P1.02 billion in the first semester of 2016, slightly higher than the P1.01 billion it posted during the same period last year.