The major Yangtze ports reported a total cargo throughput of 90m tons in May, the same level as last May, according to figures released by the Yangtze River Administration. For the first five months, throughput of general cargo totalled 411m tons, again no change year-on-year. Foreign trade-related throughput went up by 10.2 per cent to 56m tons during the first five months, largely driven by increased imports of iron ore in the lower reaches. Container throughput fell by 15.6 per cent to 2.31m teu in the same period.

Statistics from the Yangtze Maritime Safety Bureau showed a total of 15 major accidents in the river during the first five months of 2009, causing nine deaths, 10 sunken vessels and a direct financial loss of Rmb7.1m.

In a separate report, the Yangtze container index increased by 4.46 per cent to 942.90 in May, largely driven by greater import activity in the upper reaches. Manufacturing companies operating in the interior have been taking advantage of low raw material prices in the international market by importing aggressively from overseas. Container barges on the Shanghai-Chongqing route are operating at full capacity, although vessel numbers have been reduced by the withdrawal from service of several barges following the onset of the economic downturn; not all these barges have since resumed service. This development has driven up the container index by 10.6 per cent for the upper reaches to 982.35 while the middle reaches fell by 0.32 per cent to 896.36 and the lower reaches by 0.62 per cent to 921.71.

By contrast, the Yangtze dry index changed little in May, posting a slight increase of 0.26 per cent to 805.88. The shipping index for coal fell by 0.96 per cent to 649.61 due to depressed demand from across the Yangtze. The iron ore index increased by 2.1 per cent over the previous month to 850.42, reflecting heightened import activities in the low reaches. The shipping index for building materials continued to rise in May, by 1.68 per cent to 1,270.72, due to the on-going Sichuan earthquake relief efforts and numerous infrastructure projects in the interior region. The non-metal ore index fell 6.45 per cent to 896.68.