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Philippine ports handled 10.5% more cargoes year-on-year to 65.772 million metric tons in the first quarter of 2025 on the back of double-digit growth of international and domestic traffic
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Container volume jumped 13.3% to 2.040 million TEUs
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Roll-on/roll-off traffic dropped 7% to 2.596 million units while passenger traffic fell 2.3% to 18.416 million
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Shipcalls declined 3.1% to 153,867 vessels as international shipcalls shrank 2.6% to 2,568 vessels
Philippine ports handled 10.5% more cargoes year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025 on the back of double-digit growth of international and domestic traffic, preliminary data from the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) showed.
From January to March 2025, ports under PPA jurisdiction processed 65.772 million metric tons (mt) compared to the 59.522 million mt in the same period last year.
Domestic cargoes, which accounted for 43% of the total, grew 10.2% year-on-year to 28.284 million mt while foreign cargoes expanded by 10.7% to 37.488 million mt.
Import cargoes rose 12.6% to 26.774 million mt; export cargoes climbed 6.2% to 10.714 mt.
Luzon ports represented 62.5% of the total volume during the first quarter with 41.129 million mt, up 18% year-on-year.
Mindanao ports recorded a 2.8% increment to 11.96 million mt.
Ports in the Visayas, on the other hand, saw a 2.5% decline year-on-year to 12.683 million mt.
As expected, Manila International Container Terminal recorded the highest volume in the first quarter with 7.234 million mt. It was followed by baseport North Harbor with 4.125 million mt, baseport South Harbor (2.123 million mt), and baseport Cagayan De Oro (1.682 million mt).
Container traffic reached 2.040 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the first quarter of the year, up 13.3% from 1.801 million TEUs in the same quarter last year, due to higher domestic and foreign container volumes.
Domestic containers advanced 8.8% to 699,516 TEUs while foreign containers swelled 15.8% to 1.341 million TEUs.
Import and export containers soared by 15.6% and 16% to 666,687 TEUs and 674,265 TEUs, respectively.
Luzon ports, which handled 77% of the total container traffic, posted a 16.6% hike to 1.571 million TEUs.
Container traffic at Visayas ports likewise rose, albeit slightly, by 0.75% to 108,244 TEUs while Mindanao ports saw a 4.5% increment to 361,679 TEUs.
Manila ports recorded the biggest container volumes in the first quarter this year, with MICT handling 755,218 TEUs, baseport Manila South Harbor with 351,746 TEUs, and baseport North Harbor with 324,423 TEUs.
Meanwhile, roll-on/roll-off traffic dropped 7% in the first quarter of the year to 2.596 million units from 2.790 million units in the first quarter of last year.
Shipcalls to PPA ports in the first quarter likewise declined 3.1% to 153,867 vessels from 149,224 vessels in the same period last year, as international shipcalls shrank 2.6% to 2,568 vessels. Domestic shipcalls, on the other hand, rose 3.2% to 151,299 vessels.
Passenger traffic fell 2.3% in the first quarter to 18.416 million from 18.847 million. Cruise passengers, however, grew 80.2% to 131,687 as PPA recorded 83 cruise ship calls in the first quarter.
For this year, PPA general manager Jay Daniel Santiago said they target to handle 301.47 million mt cargoes and 85.41 million passengers. – Roumina Pablo
