The Port of Singapore saw its container throughput drop by 4.1% year-on-year (YoY) in November 2020, according to new trade data from the Maritime Port Authority (MPA).
The MPA said the Port handled approximately 3.13 million TEU in November and also saw its vessel arrivals fall by 37.4% YoY.
General cargo throughput also fell by 5.6%, although its bunker sales increased by 4.6% YoY as it sold 4.26 million tonnes in November 2020.
The fall in traffic and TEU can largely be attributed to the COVID-19 and figures are largely representative of wider container shipping market trends.
The pandemic has caused traffic to fall in many ports as carriers have cancelled sailings, benefitted from higher freight rates and lower fuel costs, resulting in more fuel sales and fewer port calls.
The data also continues a story of consistently falling traffic at the Port of Singapore throughout 2020, which has seen significant falls in volume due to the pandemic.
However, the MPA has not been deterred from technological investment and has undertaken a series of initiatives to keep trade flowing.
Its major infrastructure, the Tuas Port project, has continued unabated and has continued to receive new equipment ahead of its opening.
Another initiative has been the Alliance for Action (AfA) on Supply Chain Digitalisation, a Singapore government initiative, to bring together public and private sectors on a common data infrastructure.
