PPA pushes more empty container yards to ease port congestion

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is pushing for the establishment of additional empty container yards to improve cargo movement and ease logistical bottlenecks at the country's ports.

PPA General Manager Jay Santiago said the proposed facilities would allow truckers to return empty containers more efficiently, freeing up their vehicles to collect new shipments from ports.

In a radio interview, Santiago described the establishment of additional container return facilities by foreign shipping lines as the quickest and most effective solution to the shortage of storage space.

“At present, we still see the establishment of empty container return yards by foreign shipping lines as the most immediate, fastest and most effective solution,” Santiago said.

He said the PPA had anticipated the problem as early as 2021 to 2023, when it proposed the Trusted Operator Program–Container Registry and Monitoring System (TOP-CRMS).

“From 2021 to 2023, if you recall, the Philippine Ports Authority had already proposed a solution to this problem, as we had identified the issue early on,” he said.

Santiago explained that TOP-CRMS was designed to provide additional spaces for empty container returns in various locations while monitoring the movement of shipping containers.

However, the program was not implemented after former Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista ordered its suspension following opposition from industry stakeholders.

Santiago also attributed the shortage to the country's import-export imbalance, which results in more shipping containers entering the Philippines than leaving.

“More containers are entering the country because our imports exceed our exports. As a result, fewer containers are shipped out, leaving more empty containers here in the Philippines,” he said.

With container yards already full, truckers are often forced to keep empty containers on their vehicles, preventing them from collecting additional shipments and slowing cargo movement.

Santiago emphasized that shipping lines are responsible for their containers, which are rented to customers for transporting goods.

“That is the responsibility of the shipping lines because the containers are returned to them. Essentially, they lend these containers to their clients or shippers, but although they are considered borrowed, the clients actually pay to use them. In other words, the containers are rented,” he said.