The Nigerian Port Consultative Council (NPCC) has reported a significant decline in vehicle imports during the first half of 2024, with numbers dropping by 60.4% year-on-year to 10,991 units. This downturn is attributed to the depreciation of the naira and the broader economic challenges facing the country.
The NPCC's findings indicate that vehicle traffic decreased from 28,024 units in the same period last year, marking a notable contraction in the automotive sector.
In conjunction with the drop in vehicle imports, the number of ships visiting Nigerian seaports also fell by 4.3%, from 275 in the first half of 2023 to 251 in 2024.
However, despite fewer vessel calls, the Gross Tonnage (GRT) of ships increased by 6.9%, reaching 32.614 million metric tons compared to 30.504 million metric tons in the previous year.
The report further highlights that cargo throughput, excluding crude oil, rose by 16.1% to 21.186 million metric tons, up from 18.234 million metric tons in 2023.
Inward cargo traffic accounted for 13.563 million metric tons, while outward cargo traffic was recorded at 7.623 million metric tons.
Container traffic also saw a slight increase, with 398,447 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) handled between January and June, representing a 2.3% rise from the previous year.
Notably, import containers made up 3.4% of this traffic, while export containers decreased by 1.2%.
The NPCC's analysis revealed that empty containers constituted approximately 36.3% of total export traffic, and the average turnaround time for vessels improved to 4.6 days from 5.1 days in 2023, largely due to the operational efficiency of the Lekki Deep Sea Port, which achieved an average turnaround of just one day.
