2 months ago
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Cargo Handlers Limited, operator of port services in Montego Bay, continues to work through a container backlog.
“The Port of Montego Bay is carrying over a backlog of full container loads, less than full, or consolidated containers into January,” said Executive Chairman Mark Hart.
Cargo Handlers continues to compile data for the December quarter, but Hart hinted at a likely dip in revenue, though not due to backlog-related matters. The company’s services include loading and unloading containers from ships at the Port of Montego Bay, which is controlled by the Port Authority of Jamaica.
“Revenue appears to be roughly 12 per cent down, year over year,” he said about the December quarter. “[It] is due to the absence of the ISO containers for liquefied natural gas now solely being carried by bulk vessels, as well as reduced homeporting cruise activities in 2024.”
In previous years, Cargo Handlers unloaded these LNG containers.
Last month, the Port Authority indicated that container traffic was up by about 50 per cent relative to pre-pandemic levels. Delays related to wars and weather have slowed deliveries.
“Local shippers are contending with higher freight costs and increased transit times for the movement of their cargoes, due to disruptions affecting the more commonly used shipping lanes. At the very least, the prevailing conditions in shipping may present forecasting uncertainties for logistics planners, especially in anticipation of the approaching cargo peak season,” Cargo Handlers said in its financial report for the September fourth quarter.
Full-year revenue for the port services company fell to $474 million at September 2024, compared to $515 million in FY2023. Profit also fell to $274 million from $322.6 million.
Cargo Handlers holds a 30 per cent stake in Buying House Cement Limited, which trades in cement imported from the Dominican Republic. The carrying value of that investment in September totalled $388 million.
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