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Philippine ports saw higher cargo and container traffic in the first half of 2026, driven by higher international cargoes
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Cargo volume grew 3.2% to 154.033 million metric tons while container traffic increased 2.8% to 4.300 million TEUs
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Ro-Ro traffic improved 4.9% to 6.876 million units (vehicles) while passenger traffic declined by 0.006% to 45.670 million
Philippine ports saw higher cargo and container traffic in the first half of 2026, driven by higher international cargoes, according to preliminary data from the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).
Ports under PPA jurisdiction handled 154.033 million metric tons (mt) of cargo from January to June 2026, up 3.2% from the 149.187 million mt recorded in the same period in 2025.
READ: Cargo volume at PH ports up 6.6% in 2025
International cargoes, which accounted for 63.6% of the total, grew 7.1% to 97.938 million mt from 91.410 million mt last year, boosted by the double-digit increase in exports.
For the first half of the year, export cargoes expanded 17.4% to 42.061 million mt from 35.818 million mt in the same period last year.
Imports likewise grew, albeit a slight 0.5%, to 55.876 million mt from 55.592 million mt.
Domestic cargoes handled during the first half of the year also improved 2.9% to 56.095 million mt from the 57.777 million mt posted in the same period last year.
Among the regions, Luzon ports shared 55.2% of the total cargo in the first semester of the year at 85.065 million mt, 1% higher than the 84.190 million mt recorded in the same semester last year.
Mindanao ports, which accounted for 26.3% of the total, posted the biggest increase in volumes during the period, recording a 12.9% increment to 40.515 million mt from 35.885 million mt last year.
PPA ports in the Visayas, on the other hand, reported a 2.3% decline in volumes to 28.453 million mt from 29.112 million mt.
In terms of containers, PPA ports handled 4.300 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the first half of 2026, up 2.8% from 4.182 million TEUs in the same period in 2025.
Domestic containers, which shared 34.8% of the total, rose 4.2% to 1.497 million TEUs from 1.436 million TEUs.
Accounting for the bigger share of 65.2% of the total, foreign containers likewise grew 2.1% to 2.803 million TEUs from 2.746 million TEUs, as both import and export containers posted higher volumes.
Imports were 3.6% higher at 1.428 million TEUs from 1.379 million TEUs while exports inched up 0.6% to 1.375 million TEUs from 1.367 million TEUs.
Luzon ports had the biggest share to total with 76.3% or 3.281 million TEUs, a 2.4% growth from the 3.204 million TEUs posted in the first half of last year.
Ports in Mindanao also recorded a 3% increase to 778,699.75 TEUs from 756,109 TEUs while Visayas ports posted an 8.6% increase to 240,633.50 TEUs from 221,527 TEUs.
Ro-Ro traffic likewise grew 4.9% to 6.876 million units (vehicles) in the first half of the year from 6.553 million units in the same period in 2025.
Passenger traffic, on the other hand, dropped slightly to 45.670 million from 45.673 million in the first half of last year. Cruise passenger traffic, however, expanded 15.4% to 165,340 from 143,274 passengers.
Ship calls to PPA ports in the first half of the year dipped 3.2% to 331,005 vessels from 342,005 vessels in the same half last year. Domestic ship calls, which accounted for the majority of the total, saw a 3.3% year-on-year decline to 325,381 vessels while foreign ship calls were up 1.6% year-on-year to 5,624 vessels.
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