DP World's Growth Accelerates

"Big Four" global terminal operator DP World announced Tuesday that it handled 34 million TEU across its portfolio in the first half of the year, an increase of about eight percent over the same period last year. In the second quarter, growth rates accelerated to more than ten percent year-on-year – well ahead of Drewry’s industry-wide estimate of four percent for 2017. 

The terminals under DP World’s direct control handled 18 million TEU during the first half of 2017, a 22 percent improvement in performance (inclusive of newly added facilities). DP World credited much of the increase to rising global trade, and said that all three of its regions saw growth rates accelerate in the second quarter of 2017, led by terminals in Europe and the Americas. 

Group Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said that part of the growth came from market share gains under the new carrier alliances, which took effect in the second quarter. "Given the encouraging first half performance, we remain well placed to meet full year 2017 market expectations," he said. 

DP World advises Indonesia on Sumatran port

DP World has also signed on to assist the Indonesian government in planning a new greenfield port at Belawan, North Sumatra. The firm will review the operations of the existing port and share its expertise in the design of the new facility, which will be called Kuala Tanjung.

State-owned Port of Belawan is Indonesia's busiest port outside of the island of Java. DP World says that the new port will reduce freight handling costs, which will reduce prices of goods on the local market, boosting economic growth. Last year, Indonesian president Joko Widodo criticized Belawan's performance, noting that dwell time can exceed six days – about twice as long as at Tanjung Priok. Widodo has called on Indonesia's state-owned port operations firms to achieve an ambitious dwell time target of less than three days.