The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) has reported a 17.57% increase in container processing at its trade hubs during the first quarter of 2023, scoring a throughput of 2,011,162 TEUs compared to 1,710,608 TEUs, the same period last year. Quarterly container statistics further show a 16.08% spike in exported TEUs, attaining a total of 559,829 against the last year's Q1 volume of 513,273 TEUs. Imported containers performed even better, with a year-on-year rise of 22.43%, from 520,509 TEUs to 637,277 TEUs. Meanwhile, transshipments saw a 14.96% boost in volume last quarter, growing from 676,826 TEUs to 778,056 TEUs. The Q1 numbers in the cargo category also trended upwards, soaring to 4.11% at 75,552,598 tonnes, in contrast to 72,570,201 tonnes in the comparison period of the last year. The first three months saw a total of 1,597,014 tonnes of general cargo, 12,503,063 tonnes of dry bulk cargo, and 39,822,296 tonnes of liquid bulk cargo going through Mawani ports. Up 14.97% from 5,031,957 tonnes in Q1 of 2022, food throughput across the Saudi ports network hit a volume of 5,785,004 tonnes. Livestock imports jumped an enormous 300.48% from 336,581 to 1,347,949 cattle heads so far this year in the comparison period of the last year. Similarly, automobile shipments shot up by 35.52%, to 258,051 vehicles from 190,422 units comparing Q1 of this year to Q1 of last year. An almost identical growth was registered in passenger volume during this year's first quarter, with 304,610 pax disembarking into the Kingdom, an uptick of 34.29% from 226,838 pax during the same period last year. Inbound vessels recorded an 11.48% surge relative to last year's numbers. Innovating customer-centric solutions are core to the national maritime regulator's mission, under the guidance of the National Transport and Transport Strategy (NTLS), to build a world-class logistics hub that fosters global trade and reimagines a greener future for the shipping industry.
