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Elijah Felice Rosales - The Philippine Star
May 20, 2025 | 12:00am
Based on data from the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), cargo traffic in ports rose by 11 percent to 65.77 million metric tons from January to March, from 59.52 MMT a year ago.
STAR / File
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine logistics industry grew by double digits in the first quarter of the year, building up confidence that it can withstand external risks from the Trump tariffs.
Based on data from the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), cargo traffic in ports rose by 11 percent to 65.77 million metric tons from January to March, from 59.52 MMT a year ago.
The PPA said container throughput jumped by 13 percent to 2.04 million twenty-foot equivalent units, from 1.8 million TEUs, showing the industry’s resilience ahead of the shake-up in world trade.
On April 2, US President Donald Trump shocked the global economy by slapping higher tariffs on dozens of economies, including the Philippines. This policy has been placed on hold for 90 days since April 9, but it was enough to trigger shockwaves of uncertainties.
In an earlier interview with The STAR, PPA general manager Jay Santiago said the domestic logistics industry would take minimal impact from tariff risks. Citing PPA records, Santiago said the Philippines usually trades with the US through transshipment via China or Singapore.
This means cargo directly traveling between the Philippines and the US is negligible in volume.
However, the PPA reported that passenger volume in ports slid by two percent to 18.42 million in the first quarter, as the Holy Week fell in April this year unlike in 2024, when it came in March.
Likewise, passengers who journeyed on roll-on, roll-off vessels declined by seven percent to 2.6 million.
Despite this, the PPA received 52 ship calls from cruise lines in the first quarter, proving how the country is becoming a destination of choice for high-end travelers. The Philippines welcomed 131,687 cruise passengers, putting the PPA on track to hit its target of 185,000.
The PPA’s net income has risen to P3.88 billion as of March on increasing revenue and spending cuts. Broken down, the agency grew earnings by 24 percent to P7.12 billion, and accompanied this with a 19-percent reduction in expenses to P3.24 billion.
The PPA is banked on by the government to remit one of the highest dividends among state-run firms, as the agency turned in a record P5.2 billion in contribution in 2024.
Aside from this, the PPA spends part of its profit on port upgrades to scale up cargo handling and boost inter-island connectivity.
