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Cebu ports handled 69.334 million metric tons in the first 11 months of 2025, 4.8% higher than the 66.184 million mt recorded in the same period in 2024
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Growth was driven by the 7.2% increase in domestic cargoes while foreign cargoes dropped 4.7% as both imports and exports declined
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Container traffic rose 0.1% to 904,365 TEUs as domestic containers dropped 1.7% while foreign containers grew 3.4% fueled by increases in both import and export boxes
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Rolling cargoes shrank 19.1% to 1.305 million units while ship calls were up 0.7% to 135,362 vessels
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Passenger traffic grew 0.5% to 17.905 million
Cebu ports handled 69.334 million metric tons (mt) in the first 11 months of 2025, 4.8% higher than the 66.184 million mt recorded in the same period in 2024, according to preliminary data from the Cebu Port Authority (CPA).
The growth was driven by the 7.2% increase in domestic cargoes, which accounted for 81.2% of the total. From January to November 2025, domestic cargoes reached 56.312 million mt, higher than the 52.517 million mt in the same period last year.
Foreign cargoes, on the other hand, dropped 4.7% to 13.022 million mt from 13.667 million mt, as both import and export cargoes declined during the period.
Imports, which shared 90.7% of total foreign volumes, fell 4.7% to 11.808 million mt from 12.394 million mt. Exports likewise flunked 4.6% to 1.214 million mt from 1.273 million mt.
READ: Cebu ports record 5.1% cargo volume growth in Jan-Sept 2025
Argao subport contributed the biggest share to the total cargo volumes for the first 11 months of 2025 with 14.551 million mt or a share of 21%. It was followed by Toledo subport with 15.9% or 11.044 million mt.
Container-wise, Cebu ports saw a slight improvement to 904,365 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the first 11 months of 2025, just 0.1% up from the 903,423 TEUs recorded in the same period in 2024.
Domestic containers, accounting for 48.3% of the total, dropped 1.7% to 437,133 TEUs from 444,632 TEUs previously. Domestic transshipments also plummeted 45% to 8,312 TEUs from 15,140 TEUs.
Foreign containers, meanwhile, grew 3.4% to 458,919 TEUs from 443,651 TEUs, fueled by increases in both import and export boxes.
Import containers rose 1.8% year-on-year to 218,422 TEUs while export containers improved 5% to 240,497 TEUs.
Pier 1 handled the biggest container volume for the period, sharing 324,588 TEUs or 36% of the total, followed by Cebu International Port (CIP) with 290,077 TEUs or a share of 32%.
Rolling cargoes that passed through Cebu ports in the first 11 months of 2025 shrank 19.1% to 1.305 million units from 1.613 million units in the same period in 2024.
In terms of passengers, Cebu ports recorded 17.905 million from January to November 2025, a minimal increase from the 17.814 million passengers in the same period in 2024.
Ship calls to Cebu ports likewise saw a slight climb to 135,362 vessels from 134,461 vessels in 2024.
Domestic ship calls, which account for the bulk of the total, grew 0.6% to 134,326 vessels while foreign ship calls were up 4.6% to 1,036 vessels.
CPA earlier said it eyes a conservative 1.4% increase in cargo volumes and 2.5% higher passenger traffic at Cebu ports this year after recording growth in 2024.
For 2025, Cebu ports are projected to handle 72.9 million mt of cargoes and 20.088 million passengers.
CPA’s jurisdiction is composed of the Cebu baseport and its subports that are strategically located in different points of Cebu. Cebu baseport is composed of CIP and the domestic zone, while subports include the ports of Mandaue, Danao, Sta. Fe, Toledo and Argao.
A new port, the New Cebu International Container Port (NCICP), meanwhile, will be constructed in Tayug, Consolacion, some eight kilometers from the Cebu baseport. Once operational, NCICP will handle international cargo operations while the Cebu baseport will service domestic and bulk and breakbulk shipments. — Roumina Pablo
