Tianjin port is faring relatively well in the current downturn, according to a report by China Daily. Yu Rumin, chairman of Tianjin Port Group, said its container business had already started to pick up, and iron ore volumes were holding up well due to steel firms buying ore at much lower prices than existed last year.

Tianjin handled nearly 8m tons or iron ore in January, he said, more than the average 5m-6m tons in good years. Growth should continue for the rest of the year.

Tianjin, the third largest port in China for cargo handling, aims to transport at least 360m tons in 2009, 4m tons more than last year, he said.

Tianjin is located in north China, where the economy is much less reliant on exports than the south. This has helped shore up the port’s performance in recent months. To further reduce its reliance on exports, the port now plans to open new domestic shipping routes to Guangdong province and the Yangtze River Delta over the next 12 months, as well as raise its domestic container traffic from 30 to 50 per cent, he said.