Port volume growth hits low

Cargo flows through Chinese ports increased at the slowest pace in August since the beginning of this year, providing fresh evidence of the woeful state of China's export sector as well as its stalling economic expansion, which has put a dent in the country's demand for bulk commodities.

Chinese ports, the world's busiest, handled a total cargo volume of 792 million metric tons in August, up 2 percent from the same period last year - the lowest increase since the beginning of this year, according to the Ministry of Transport.

In the meantime, Chinese ports' container throughput reached 15.11 million twenty-foot equivalent units in August, up 3.9 percent from the same period last year, official data showed. This is much slower than the 7.9 percent year-on-year container-throughput growth rate averaged over the first seven months of this year, according to the ministry.