Port cargo volume exceeds 2025 target

THE Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said it exceeded its 2025 target with 307.64 million metric tons (MMT) of cargo throughput for the year, up 6.3%.

Citing preliminary data, foreign cargo volume rose 4.62% to 193.10 MMT, while domestic cargo rose 9.27% to 114.55 MMT.

Last year, PPA container ports served 8.57 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), up 9.31%.

PPA fell short of its 2025 passenger traffic target of 85.41 million, recording 82.42 million passengers, up 4.58%.

In the fourth quarter, PPA logged cargo throughput of 74.43 MMT, up 4.36% from a year earlier.

The port regulator logged container throughput of 2.18 million TEUs, up 3.31%. Passenger traffic in the fourth quarter was 19.32 million, up 5.46%.

For 2026, the PPA said it is expecting cargo volume to grow 4.03% to 320.94 MMT, driven mainly by foreign cargo.

The PPA said foreign cargo volume is expected to rise 4.28% to 202.73 MMT. Domestic cargo volume is seen rising 3.61% to 118.22 MMT.

Container throughput is forecast to increase 3.94% to 8.88 million TEUs. For this year, passenger traffic is expected to grow 5.78% to 87.26 million. 

The PPA said it remains optimistic about cargo and passenger traffic growth due to continued investment in port upgrades. — Ashley Erika O. Jose