Gulftainer's throughput continues to rise

Gulftainer posts another monthly increase in trade volumes for its Sharjah Container Terminal despite the global economic downturn.

Gulftainer yesterday posted another monthly increase in trade volumes for its Sharjah Container Terminal (SCT), despite the global economic downturn.

The largest privately owned port operator in the world said there had been an overall 16.8 per cent increase in container throughput at SCT, compared to the same month last year - the best ever January performance in the company’s history.

SCT also recorded a 19.3 per cent annual volume increase for 2011. Peter Richards, the managing director of Gulftainer, said: “We are delighted to have achieved such successful results for the month of January 2012. The volume increases ... demonstrate the increased volume of trade in the region and we remain very optimistic about prospects for the whole region in the coming year.”

SCT, adjacent to Sharjah's industrial area, handles containers on behalf of over 40 shipping lines, including all of the world’s top 20 companies, and accommodates over 45 per cent of the non-oil manufacturing capacity of the UAE.

In the UAE, Gulftainer also operates the Khorfakkan container terminal and Ruwais Port.