Port of Melbourne Reports Positive Container Throughput Growth in May

According to the latest operational report from the Port of Melbourne, Australia’s largest container port continued to record positive container volume growth in May 2026, driven by improvements across import, export, and transshipment segments.

Container Throughput Up 2.4% in May

Total container throughput at the Port of Melbourne reached 300,000 TEUs in May, representing a 2.4% increase compared with the same period last year.

Growth was supported by positive performance across several key segments:

●    Full import containers: Up 7.5% to 119,000 TEUs.

●    Full export containers: Up 9.7% to 60,000 TEUs.

●    Transshipment cargo: Increased significantly by 22% to 20,000 TEUs.

●    Bass Strait traffic: Rose 5.1% to 22,000 TEUs.

In contrast, empty container movements declined by 12.4%, totaling 79,000 TEUs during the month.

Performance During the First 11 Months of FY2026

For the first 11 months of fiscal year 2026 (FY2026), total container throughput at the Port of Melbourne reached 3.22 million TEUs, representing year-on-year growth of 3.5%.

During this period:

●    Import container volumes increased by 3.7% to 1.284 million TEUs.

●    Bass Strait container traffic rose by 3.5% to 228,000 TEUs.

Meanwhile, export container volumes remained largely stable, edging down by 0.3%, while transshipment volumes declined by 6.4% compared with the same period last year.

Unlike the trend recorded in May, total empty container movements during the first 11 months of FY2026 increased by 8.2%, reaching 911,000 TEUs.

Non-Container Cargo Volumes Increase 14.5%

In addition to container operations, the port also reported strong growth in non-containerized cargo during May.
Total non-container cargo volumes reached 2.32 million revenue tonnes, representing a year-on-year increase of 14.5%.

Several cargo categories recorded particularly strong growth:

●    Motor vehicles: Up 23.9% to 982,000 revenue tonnes.

●    Liquid bulk cargo: Surged 46.4% to 468,000 revenue tonnes.

●    Other cargo categories: Increased 2.5% to 361,000 revenue tonnes.

However, some segments continued to experience declines. Break bulk cargo volumes fell 4.9% to 86,000 revenue tonnes, while dry bulk cargo volumes decreased by 9.9% to 427,000 revenue tonnes.

Stable Port Performance Supported by Multiple Growth Drivers

The May results indicate that operations at the Port of Melbourne remain resilient, supported by growth across both containerized and non-containerized cargo segments. In particular, stronger import and export activity, together with rising transshipment volumes, continues to reinforce Melbourne’s position as one of Australia's most important maritime gateways and a key hub in regional and international supply chains.

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Source: Phaata.com (According to Container News)

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