Trade hubs overseen by the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) have witnessed a 24.05% increase in the flow of containers during January, registering a tally of 694,803 TEUs in comparison to last year’s 560,084 TEUs.
Detailed container data released by the national maritime regulator further reveal a 17.8% spike in exported containers to 206,177 TEUs last month from 175,021 TEUs in the previous year. Imported containers, too, kept the yearly upward momentum going with a 26.08% rise from 220,119 TEUs to 174,582 TEUs.
Leveraging the Kingdom’s unique location and increased trade connectivity, its ports handled an estimated 268,507 TEUs of transshipments, up 27.57% from 210,481 TEUs in the year before.
On the other end, the consolidated cargo figures for January point to a 9.55% gain in volumes to reach 26,360,132 tons from the preceding year’s total of 24,061,871 tons.
Under this category, dry bulk freight touched 4,035,580 tons at a 3.95% uptick versus 3,882,371 tons in 2022, with liquid bulk volumes edging up by 5.55% from 13,695,645 tons to 14,455,664 tons in 2023. However, the general cargo decreased by 4.87% to reach 467,665 tons.
While the nation’s ports processed around 2,092,676 tons of food commodities across January, which represents a 12.48% jump over last year’s aggregate of 1,860,491 tons. Similarly, its berths received about 387,074 cattle heads - a stunning 207.04% leap from 126,066 recorded last year.
Moreover, the Kingdom’s car imports soared 63.9% to 100,365 units from 61,237 units in the previous period. Its shores also welcomed 1,004 vessels over the course of January, a 13.45% climb from 885 ships in the prior year, with passenger traffic ascending to 99,132 pax at 27.22% from 77,919 pax during the same month last year.
The Saudi maritime industry’s growth story continues amid game-changing steps taken by Mawani to upscale operational efficiency, modernize port infrastructure, and secure lucrative investments in tune with the National Transport and Logistics Strategy, a multisector vision that seeks to cement the Kingdom’s position as a premier trade and logistics destination on the global map.
