Singapore's PSA Corp Ltd, which runs the world's second-busiest container port after Hong Kong, said it handled 18 percent more containers in the first two months of this year compared with the same period a year earlier.
The port operator's performance for January and February was in line with analyst expectations for a rise in container traffic this year, bolstered by the booming economies of China and India.
PSA said on Wednesday it handled 4.8 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in January and February combined, up from 4.1 million in the same period of last year. The figures appear to have been rounded up.
The port operator has investments in port projects in eight countries outside Singapore - Belgium, Brunei, China, India, Italy, Portugal, South Korea and Thailand
PSA would not give a breakdown for the February numbers, but after deducting previously reported January figures, global container volume handled fell slightly to 2.3 million TEUs in February from 2.4 million TEUs in January.
The volume was up 15 percent from February 2003.
Containers moved across its Singapore terminals were down at 1.4 million TEUs in February from 1.6 million TEUs in January. It moved 7.7 percent more containers compared with February 2003.
In the first two months of this year, PSA's four terminals in Singapore, which is the world's largest transhipment hub, handled 12 percent more containers at 3.0 million TEUs.
Container volume handled by its overseas terminals saw a 29 percent jump to 1.8 million TEUs in January-February from the same period a year earlier.
State-owned PSA is expanding its offshore terminal capacity while confronting mounting competition from neighbouring Malaysia's Port Klang and the Port of Tanjung Pelepas.
The Malaysian ports offer handling charges as much as 30 percent cheaper than Singapore, but the PSA has been clawing back market share, partly due to a mix of rebates and discounts given to container ships.
PSA chief executive for Singapore terminals Grace Fu said last week she expected growth in container volumes this year to match the 7.8 percent growth of 2003 compared with a year earlier, helped by China's growth.