The Dubai-based container terminal operator DP World has closed 2021 by handling 77.9 million TEU across its global portfolio, registering an increase of 9.4% year-on-year in gross container volumes.
This increase was mainly driven by trade with India and the Asia Pacific, which recorded a rise of 12.7% over 2020, followed by America and Australia that marked growth of more than 10%, as well as the Middle East, Africa, Europe, with a 5.8% increase year-on-year.
At an asset level, the DP World operated terminals in Qingdao (China), Mumbai, Mundra, Chennai (India), Sokhna (Egypt), London Gateway (United Kingdom), Caucedo (Dominican Republic), Callao (Peru), and Sydney (Australia) delivered a strong performance.
As per consolidated level, terminals handled 45.4 million TEU during 2021, representing an increase of 8.8% year-on-year.
During the fourth quarter of 2021, DP World handled 19.6 million TEU, up 2.6% compared to the same period of the previous year. This volume growth rate moderation in Q4 is due to the new Covid variant, inflation and supply chain bottlenecks, according to the company.
DP World’s chairman and CEO Ahmed Bin Sulayem noted that the group’s volume performance is ahead of industry growth of 6.5%. “This outperformance is due to our continued investment in high-quality assets in the right locations and the delivery of our strategy to offer integrated supply chain solutions to beneficial cargo owners,” he said.
“Looking ahead to 2022, we expect our portfolio to continue to deliver growth and, while the year has started encouragingly, we remain mindful that the Covid-19 pandemic, continued supply chain disruptions, rising inflation and geopolitical uncertainty could continue to hinder the global economic recovery,” added Sulayem.
