News
The Japan Maritime Center （JMC） recently has compiled a report on the impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake on oceangoing freight movement.
The number of commercial vessels arriving at ports in Japan for the three months from March to May 2011 after the devastating earthquake on March 11 was smaller by 9.2% than the average number of the corresponding three months of the last five years, according to the report.
As for the number of containers handled in March and April, exports were larger by 1.9% and imports, 15.3%. In terms of value, exports went down 3.6%, but imports went up 6%.
Exports of automobiles from Japan were almost down by half, plunging 45.7%. As major automakers had many plants in the Tohoku area, which was hit hard by the earthquake, supply chains were destroyed.
Volume of imported crude oil went down 13.1% and coal, 10.5%, but liquefied natural gas （LNG） rose 16.1%, indicating that demand for the alternative energy source increased.
