CEO Azman said the record-breaking achievement for Northport’s conventional cargo was driven by the significant increase in break bulk commodities.
PETALING JAYA: Northport (M) Bhd handled a record 11.41 million freight weight tonnes (FWTs) of conventional cargo in 2023, surpassing its previous high of 11.12 million FWTs recorded in 2022.
Chief executive officer Datuk Azman Shah Mohd Yusof said the record-breaking achievement for Northport’s conventional cargo was driven by the significant increase in break bulk commodities, which registered a 9.5% growth compared with the previous year.
He added that the performance was also due to increases in the dry bulk and liquid bulk segments.
“In the roll-on roll-off segment, the company also witnessed a significant increase in the handling of electric vehicles (EVs) in 2023, resulting from the government’s policies of promoting EVs,” he said in a statement.
Azman said Northport’s success in 2023 came in spite of tough challenges as the world experienced slow economic recovery from major trading countries and the global trade uncertainty, especially during the first half of the year.
“As for conventional cargo operations, the company faced additional challenges during the rainy season especially in the last quarter of the year.
“It should be noted that conventional cargo operations are typically halted during rainfall, which made the record-breaking accomplishment an even more remarkable achievement.”
Azman said Northport also recorded the highest ever monthly conventional throughput in the month of October by clocking 1.13 million FWTs, surpassing its previous best of 1.08 million FWTs set in May 2022.
“What we lack in terms of land area, we made up for it through higher productivity and process improvements.
“This back-to-back record-breaking achievement will continue to inspire and drive us towards even greater successes for Northport,” he said.
