Fast freight

FREIGHT shipments passing through Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (SAP) jumped nearly 7 percent year-on-year through the first seven months of 2011, according to official figures released yesterday.

Total freight shipments through July reached 135,324 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), up 6.75 percent from the same period last year. At the same time, total tonnage increased 13 percent to 1.4 million tonnes.

SAP Deputy Director General Ma Sun Hout said yesterday there were large increases in garment products, vehicles, machinery, coal and other commodities.

“During this period, we saw shipments across the board push higher. We hope that shipments through the port will continue to increase for the rest of the year,” he said.

Coal shipments soared 54 percent to just under 110,000 tonnes, according to Ma Sun Hout. Oil shipments climbed 2 percent to about 382,000 tonnes, he said.

Ma Sun Hout also singled out shipments of acacia wood, a fine wood often used in furniture and other products. About 10,000 tonnes of acacia wood were sent to China each month during the period, he said.