Brisbane container trade sees January slowdown

CONTAINER trade through the Port of Brisbane saw a slowdown in January.

Over the month, the port handled a total of 114,631 TEU, a decrease of 13% on January 2022.

However there was nearly no change in total container trade through the port if we look at the numbers for the rolling 12 months through January 2023. The port handled 1.548 million TEU in the period, just 156 TEU less than the same period last a year prior.

Looking at January numbers, both imports and exports fell.

Exports were 51,931 TEU in January this year, a decrease of 15% on January 2022.

This was driven in large part by a decrease in empty container exports. In January the port exported 32,985 TEU of empties, 7273 TEU less than the same month last year.

Containerised imports into the Port of Brisbane in January were 55,059 TEU, a decrease of 15% on the same month last year.

The commodity category that saw the biggest decrease over the period was “import other”, which declined by 4297 TEU from January 2022 to 27,144 TEU. Electrical equipment saw a 44% drop to 3928 TEU in January 2023.