On 31 December 2023, Northport (Malaysia) Bhd (Northport), a member of MMC Group, sets a new milestone by handling 11,405,312 Freight Weight Tonnes (FWTs) of conventional cargo in 2023. This record-breaking achievement surpassed its previous high of 11,115,670 FWTs recorded back in 2022. Dato’ Azman Shah Mohd Yusof, Chief Executive Officer of Northport announced the new record achievement during its New Year 2024 countdown event at Wharf 8A, Northport.

The record-breaking achievement for Northport’s conventional cargo was driven by the significant increase in break bulk commodities, which registered a growth of 9.5% compared to the previous year as well as increases in the dry bulk and liquid bulk segments. In the Roll-on Roll-off (RoRo) segment, the company also witnessed a significant increase in the handling of Electric Vehicle (EV) cars in 2023, resulting from the Government’s policies of promoting electric vehicles.

Northport’s success in 2023 came in spite tough challenges as the world experienced slow economic recovery from major trading countries and the global trade uncertainty, especially during the first half of the year. As for conventional cargo operations, the company faced additional challenges during the rainy season especially in the last quarter of the year. It should be noted that conventional cargo operations are typically halted during rainfall, which made the record-breaking accomplishment an even more remarkable achievement.

“Northport also recorded the highest ever monthly conventional throughput in the month of October by clocking 1,129,145 FWTs, surpassing its previous best of 1,078,538 FWTs set in May 2022. What we lack in terms of land area, we made up for it through higher productivity and process improvements. This success holds special significance for Northport, particularly as it coincided with the celebration of the 60th anniversary of port operations at the North Port terminal on 27 December 2023”, said Dato’ Azman.