Port of Manila
Media
Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal
- Title
- Port of Manila
- Creator
- Schedler, E. W.
- Language
- English
- Source
- The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Volume XXIV (No. 12) December 1948
- Year
- 1948
- Rights
-
- Fulltext
- Ocean Shipping By F. M. Gispert Secretary, Associated Steamship Lines IN spite of the Pacific Coast shipping strike, no de cline in total exports was noted during the month of October. Vessels to the number of 84 lifted 143,352 tons, as against 81 vessels with 107,936 tons for the pre vious month. Last year during October, however, 68 vessels lifted 164,507 tons. Copra shipments continued to decline but most other commodities showed a steady increase. Principal commodities exported during October, 1948, as compared with October, 1947, were: 191,7 Cigars..................... 1 ton 4 tons Desiccated coconut . 9,823 ” 5,490 ” Coconut oil............ 8,633 ” 4,006 ” Copra...................... 37,837 ” 98,427 ” Copra cake............ 2,119 ” 5,843 ’’ Hemp...................... 32,775 bales 63,550 bales Logs and lumber . . 2,796,526 board feet 24,696 board feet Ores......................... 25,274 tons 16,018 tons Rope........................ 295 ” 245 ” Sugar...................... 5,016 ” — Tobacco................... 184 ” 887 ” Port Of Manila By E. W. Schedler General Manager, Luzon Brokerage Company PUBLISHED with these notes is the incoming car go tonnage over the Manila piers, to and includ ing November, 1948, which month is on an esti mated basis. As can be readily seen, tonnage for 1948 totailed 1,781,370 tons for eleven months, against 1,676,340 tons equivalent for 1948, or an increase of 105,022 tons.. Philippine businessmen are not so much inter ested in this tonnage as they are in the prospects for cargo in 1949. As this is being written, it appears that the settlement of the Pacific Coast strike is in the final stages and that any hour a news report will state all hands will return to work. Pacific Coast ships can then be expected in Manila, beginning early January, 1949. It appears there are some 250 ships tied up on the Pacific Coast, some of which are al ready loaded for outward voyages. If too many of these ships arrive simultaneous ly in Manila, it is likely that a minor case of pier congestion will repeat itself, such as we experienced in 1946 and early 1947. Before the war, there were eight berths avail able for handling cargo, that is eight ships could come alongside the docks, and inward cargo amounted to from 95,000 to 105,000 tons monthly. Today we have seven berths to work cargo, and our monthly tonnage has run from 146,000 to 190,000 tons. To further complicate the situation, none of the berths now being worked at Pier 13, Pier 11, or Pier 7, has adequate cargo-handling machinery. Small tractors and dollies are available, as well as portable cranes, but regular overhead cargo-working gear is non-existent. In case ships have to lie off the piers awaiting berth, inside the breakwater, there are the following anchorages: 3 with 29V2 feet of water; 2 with 24 feet; and 4 with 25 feet. The harbor alongside the piers and anchorages needs dredging badly. It is reported that the Bureau of Public Works proposes to begin on this project at an early date. To remove and distribute cargo from the piers, there is an ample number of trucks available mostly belonging to the licensed customs brokers who oper ate fleets for this purpose. Where lighters can be used, some 9,000 tons of flat lighters are available in the Manila area. House lighters of the dry-cargo type total 14,000 tons. Bulk lighters of the liquid-cargo type approximate 10,000 tons. Firms working on the waterfront report a gen eral reduction in pilferage and loss over what was sustained last year, and the general impression is that there has been an improvement in cargo-handling at the Port of Manila. TOTAL TONNAGE HANDLED FOR YEAR 1948 NO. OF MONTH VESSELS TOTAL TONS January 58 135,209.581 February 62 158,666.244 March 76 189,542.323 April 80 183,844.966 May 78 215,159.844 June 79 176,460.616 July 78 151,627.124 August 82 189,787.163 September 73 146,475.877 124,596.735 October 63 November 60 * 110,000.000 * • Estimated Total .. .... 1,781,370.473 TOTAL TONNAGE HANDLED FOR YEAR 1947 NO. OF MONTH VESSELS TOTAL TONS January 48 227,354.051 February 45 192,740.392 March 51 194,458.002 April 54 165,561490 May 56 135,738.255 June 55 115,441.630 July 60 118,156.982 August 54 105,742.836 September 65 143,792.560 October 58 131,446.678 November 63 145,916.236 Total .......... 1,676,348.812 Total Tonnage (11 months) 1948: 1,781,370.473 Total Tonnage (11 months) 1947: 1,676,348.812 Increase . . . . . . 105,021.661 Inter-Island Shipping By G. F. Vander Hoogt Manager, Everett Steamship Corporation IN last month’s article, we mentioned that the West Coast maritime strike in the United States had not yet affected inter-island shipping to any noticeable extent. This situation has changed lately. Ordinarily, considerable movement of goods is done by inter-is land vessels at this time of the year, but this is now much lower than usual. There are many items of export from United States West Coast ports which are very much in demand in the Philippines during the Christmas season, but these are presently avail able only in limited quantities, which naturally af438