Subic Port is ready for peak shipping season

The Subic Bay International Terminal Corporation (SBITC) has started to accommodate the holiday surge in imports and exports this month and yesterday announced it is ready for the peak season of cargo volume handling in the Subic Freeport Zone.

“The country’s appetite for imported goods peaks during the Christmas holiday until the Chinese New Year. With a healthy GDP outlook, we can expect this trend to remain a key driver in container volume growth in the months to come,” the SBITC terminal management noted.

SBITC, the container port operator of Subic Freeport Area, described that this year’s cargo volume has experienced continuous growth for 13 straight months since 2017.

“Recently, we have confirmed further investments in port equipment and systems to continuously outpace market growth. This allows the terminal to remain healthy from a utilization standpoint which we continue to deliver to our customers both at the quay and our gates,” SBITC stated.

Goods that pass through Subic Freeport include shipments of agricultural equipment, grains and fertilizers, electronic parts and general department store merchandise for North and Central Luzon businesses, particularly in Pampanga and Bulacan.

SBITC is prepared to accommodate shipments initially destined for Manila ports in order to accommodate the influx of holiday cargoes this season.

Aside from shipments coming in from Manila, SBITC said that it has seen an influx of inquiries from markets in Visayas and Mindanao as they see the SBMA and SBITC as key levers to their supply chain strategies for their respective markets.

“Businesses in North and Central Luzon benefit most from our services, but we have seen shipments destined not only for Manila, but in Visayas and Mindanao as well."

"SBITC works with other ports in the Philippines to ensure operational excellence is attained as goods move through these key markets that are in and out of the Philippines,” according to the management.

The SBITC is using a One-Stop-Shop to ease surge since all necessary documentations with its key partners, SBMA Seaport Authority and Subic BOC, will be accomplished inside the terminal.

“From enough space and manpower to increased efficiency through our One-StopShop, our terminal is ready to accommodate the surge of cargo handling services not just this holiday peak season, but well into 2019 and beyond,” SBITC added.

Recently released figures by the Philippine Statistics Authority show a year-on-year growth (YoY) of 26.1 percent in preliminary total import value for September 2018 while total export sales declined by 2.6 percent.

Imports of raw materials and intermediate goods contributed 40.4 percent to total import value of this period.

SBITC, an ICTSI company, is a common-user and multipurpose terminal, providing on and off-dock marine port cargo and container handling services.