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DUBAI — Cargo handler DP World said Thursday business at its ports dropped 10 percent in the first half of 2009 as the shipping industry struggles through its worst slump in memory because of the global recession.
The Dubai-based port operator said it moved the equivalent of 12.3 million 20-foot (6-meter) shipping containers through ports it runs around the world between January and June.
That's down from 13.6 million containers in the same period a year earlier.
"The first six months of 2009 have seen some of the most challenging operating environments our industry has ever known," CEO Mohammed Sharaf said in a statement.
DP World has operations at 49 terminals on six continents, but its container throughput figures cover only the 26 ports it owns or where it has operational control.
Its biggest revenues come from Dubai's Jebel Ali port, the Middle East's largest, and other smaller ports in the United Arab Emirates. The company, part of state-controlled conglomerate Dubai World, said business at ports in the country were down 7 percent in the first half.
DP World's results were better than expectations for the industry as a whole.
Drewry Shipping Consultants predicts port operators globally will see cargo container volumes drop 14.2 percent in the first half, and about 10 percent over the full year.
"Without a doubt, 2009 will be the worst year the container industry has ever seen," said Neil Davidson, the London-based consultancy's ports director. He predicts freight volumes won't bounce back to last year's levels until at least 2012.
DP World's Sharaf said he believes the fall-off in business will lead to "an inevitable decline" in first-half profit despite the company's efforts to rein in costs.
The chief executive said he expects full-year results will meet expectations. But he acknowledged the economic downturn makes accurate forecasting difficult.
"The unpredictable trends in global trade we have seen in the first half of the year continue into the second half of the year," he said.
