S'pore shipping traffic falls

S'pore shipping traffic falls

SINGAPORE (AP): The number of shipping containers passing through Singapore - generally considered the world's busiest seaport - dropped by 13 percent in the first three months of this year, a news report said.

Singapore handled 3.68 million 20-foot equivalent units or TEUs in the first quarter of 2001, down from 4.23 million TEUs in the same period a year earlier, The Business Times newspaper reported, quoting figures from the Maritime and Port Authority or MPA.

MPA public relations staff contacted Saturday said they could not immediately comment on the report.

Singapore port operator PSA Corporation said its container volumes were dropping "with the world and U.S. economic slowdown affecting global trade."

"As the world's largest container transshipment hub, PSA's container volumes in Singapore are directly dependent on the world economy and trade flows," PSA said Saturday in a statement.