
Container throughput figures for leading state-controlled Saudi ports over the first half of 2018 have shown a marked variation in performance. Jeddah, the country’s biggest container gateway, has recorded a stable set of figures with throughput of 2.06 million teu, slightly up on the 2.03 million teu seen in the same period of 2017. Transshipment volumes, however, increased appreciably, from 866,000 teu in the first half of 2017, to 1.03 million this year.
On the Saudi Gulf Coast, however, the port of Dammam has witnessed a drop in throughput. The port handled just under 750,000 teu between January and June 2018, compared with 814,000 teu in the first half of 2017, a fall of around 8.5%
Another Saudi Gulf facility, Jubail Commercial Port, has continued to see strong growth in container movements. The 345,000 teu handled in the first half of 2018 was up more than 23% compared to the 280,000 teu recorded in the equivalent months of 2017.