Figures released by the Yangtze River Administration under the Ministry of Transport showed a year-on-year increase of 15.2 per cent in general cargo throughput to 98m tons in the first 26 days of September. In the year up to 26 September, cargo throughput along the Yangtze trunk line amounted to 820m tons, up 6.6 per cent over the same period in 2008.

In September, container volumes rose by 2.5 per cent year-on-year to 620,000 teu. For the first nine months, container throughput reached 4.84m teu, representing a decrease of 7.4 per cent over the same period last year.

During the first nine months, 37 accidents occurred on the Yangtze, claiming 33 lives and sinking 27 vessels. Direct losses amounted to nearly Rmb31m. Compared with the same period last year, the death toll was 8.3 per cent lower and the number of sunken vessels was down by nearly 13 per cent; however, overall direct losses increased by 23 per cent.