Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (HPH Trust) has reported that its ports and affiliates are suffering from the US-China trade war after its first half-year volumes for 2018 grew by 1% compared with last year.
Despite outbound exports to the US growing by 3%, the Singapore-based container port business trust stated that the “unprecedented level of uncertainty” facing global trade from the US, China and the European Union was enough to damage its results.
The impact to Hong Kong International Terminals (HITC), operated by Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH), COSCO and Asia Container Terminals (ACT) as COSCO-HIT, caused its combined throughput to fall by 3%, with outbound cargo to the EU falling by 3% on its own.
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Yantian International Container Terminals (YITC) was Hutchison’s only facility to experience an increase in its volumes, which rose by 2% compared with the first half of 2017 due to a growth in shipments to the US.
Commenting on its results, HPH Trust stated: “The level of uncertainty in political and economic relations as it pertains to trade has increased significantly over the course of the year to date and shows little sign of abating.
“The impact of measures which may arise out of the trade disputes, especially those between the United States and China, on the performance of HPH Trust for the remainder of the year cannot readily be quantified given the level of uncertainty that currently prevails as to both the specific nature, extent, and timing of such measures and the consequent precise impact they may have on local and global trade flows and, as such, HPH Trust’s business.”
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