Ports Power Forward

摘要

Despite a near-constant drone of negativity from the mainstream press regarding the peak of Australia's resources boom, many of Australia's key port assets continue to record increased activity and plan for future infrastructure investment and development. Port Hedland, the nation's biggest bulk export terminal and arguably the most vulnerable to a minerals downturn, announced a 29% increase in throughput in January of this year over FY2011/2012. Whether the doom and gloom of the press gang has caused its numbers to suffer into the first quarter remains to be seen, but with a recent record shipment of 256,000 tonnes of iron ore shipped to China aboard the PSU 'Seventh' in June, at the very least there still appears to be significant volume shifting. It is worth nothing that the record before the June shipment was 255,000 tonnes, set by the same vessel two months earlier in April of this year.