Yard use at Manila container terminals improving

A government-initiated effort to crack down on overstaying cargo—which worsened congestion in Manila’s container terminals early this year—has led to record low utilization amid healthy business activity.

Enrique Razon Jr.’s International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) said its flagship Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) saw yard utilization fall below 58 percent. That marked an improvement from the 70 percent yard utilization rate in April.

Private sector partners joined government agencies in March in efforts to boost efficiency at Manila’s container terminals after utilization hit 90 percent in January.

“The significant efforts in which both the private sector and the Bureau of Customs to release longer-staying imports at the terminal has resulted in lower overall container dwell times, allowing us to efficiently utilize the ample capacity to accelerate volume growth,” Christian Gonzalez, ICTSI Global corporate head, said in a statement.

“We commend the government for leading the initiative against overstaying containers, and call on stakeholders to embrace these gains by not reverting to the old ways which have been common in previous years when utilization rates drop,” he added.

Overstaying imports coupled with a lack of external empty container capacity were a perennial problem for the operators. These issues were amplified  by weather-related vessel delays, holiday peak season and the import-export imbalance.

In March, ICTSI subsidiary Subic Bay International Container Terminal opened a new container depot as part of the collective effort to improve the circulation of empty containers.

ICTSI earlier launched an $80-million capacity upgrade project for MICT.

For the initial phase, the company is building Berths 7 and 8 to accommodate larger ships, which will bring additional volume to the port.