MNSC congratulates Transport Ministry on Port Klang’s record performance

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian National Shippers’ Council (MNSC) has congratulated the Transport Ministry for Port Klang’s exceptional performance and setting a new record for container volume this year and says it can get even better.

MNSC chairman Datuk Dr Andy Seo said sound policies and measures put in place by the Transport Ministry under Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong’s leadership have managed to spur growth and performance of Port Klang despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“MNSC would like to congratulate Northport and Westports on its exceptional performance with a record-breaking container volume of 13.64 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) as of Dec 27, 2021 in Port Klang.

“We note that while imports and transhipment has gained momentum with a growth of 5.8% and 5.6% respectively in 2021 from 2020, export performance, however, saw a lower growth at 4.8%.

“We believe more can be done to improve Malaysia’s export performance which will directly further improve port performance,” said Seo in a statement on Monday (Jan 3).

Seo said currently, Malaysian shippers were faced with a dire shortage of empty containers and vessels to carry export cargo to key trade routes.

This had led to high freight rates and as well as port congestion.

“This level of pressure on shippers was echoed in MNSC’s survey conducted from Oct 7-10 2021, where 96% of the respondents indicated that the vessel capacity and container shortage issue for shipments using sea freight has yet to be resolved and 100% of the respondents highlighted that sea freight rates are still high,” said Seo.

He said to ensure Malaysia’s trade performance remains robust and future proof, the MNSC was calling on the ministry to establish a dedicated platform among federal ports to promote discussions and incubate new ideas.

“This is to ensure that substantive engagements can be carried out in a more coordinated manner to further improve the port ecosystem and address the high logistics costs issue,” said Seo.