Port Terminal & Port Operator Stocks (September 2024)
Over 60+ port or port terminal operator stocks from around the world - including a few involved in running ports or port terminals as key parts of their business (e.g. mining companies who export).
The Covid pandemic supply chain disruptions along with recent Panama Canal problems and Red Sea problems show the critical importance ports and port terminals play in global trade or the operations of individual companies. And then there are other growing geopolitical concerns such as these noted by Newsweek:
📰 China's Stake in World Ports Sharpens Attention on Political Influence (Newsweek) October 2022
In addition, Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE: VMC), the USA’s largest producer of construction aggregates, has had a long running dispute with Mexico over a port facility key to their operations with the dispute worsening in recent days:
📰 Mexico seizes Vulcan Materials port facility: Britt calls move ‘unlawful and unacceptable’ (AL.com) March 2023
Vulcan said in a statement to AL.com that the company has been in NAFTA arbitration with Mexico since late 2018 regarding its investments there, including the Sac-Tun (Calica) limestone quarry near Playa del Carmen.
The Mexican government in 2022 said it was negotiating the settlement of a $1.1 billion lawsuit by Vulcan over an effort to shutter that quarry, Reuters has reported. The status of that suit was not known Sunday night.
Lopez Obrador has accused the company of extracting materials without the proper permits, Bloomberg news reported.
📰 Vulcan Materials says it will fight AMLO’s land expropriation in Quintana Roo (Mexico Daily News) September 2024
It is another chapter in a long-running land dispute between Vulcan and the Mexican government, which came to a head in March 2023 when Mexican Navy personnel seized the company’s port to allow the Mexican company Cemex to unload a shipment of cement.
The new Felipe Carrillo Puerto Natural Protected Area decree was published on Monday night in the official federal gazette, and covers more than 50,000 hectares between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, including Vulcan’s Sac Tun limestone quarry and the company-run port of Puerto Venado.
And it also goes without saying that ports and port terminals can be lucrative for governments and corrupt government officials (or their friends) to dip their beaks in to... For example: The Philippines has a growing onion smuggling problem:
📰 Onions are so expensive in the Philippines they’re being smuggled into the country (CNN) January 2023
📰 Onion smuggling rackets thrive as staple becomes a luxury in Philippines (The Guardian) January 2023
📰 Can the Philippines tackle rampant produce smuggling from China? (SCMP) January 2023
📰 BOC intercepts P153M worth of smuggled onions in Manila port (PNA) January 2023
📰 100 metric tons of smuggled onions seized in Manila (Inquirer) December 2022
When I lived in Manila a number of years ago, I remember reading an article or something (I can’t find it on Google…) about containers of onions being left to rot and stink up (I think) the entire port of Manila after either the legitimate importer or smugglers refused to pay enough bribes duties to get the containers released. Because the high-ranking customs officials come and go from the port area in chauffer driven airconditioned cars and worked in airconditioned offices with the windows closed, they never noticed the growing stench (but everyone living and working in the port area did) - a bit symbolic for how out of touch the elite and government officials can be in a country…
Getting pack to port stocks: This post covers over 60+ port operator stocks - including a few involved in running ports or port terminals as part of their business e.g. Brazilian mining behemoth Vale (NYSE: VALE) operates ports or terminals in Brazil and other countries (e.g. in Malaysia, they have the Teluk Rubiah Maritime Terminal (TRMT) which connects their mines in Brazil to their markets in Asia) while in Western Australia, BHP Group (NYSE: BHP) has terminal facilities in Port Hedland (if you ever visit Broome further to the north, you will see the miles long ore trains on the way there…).
Note that a number of port or port terminal operators and players trade on stock exchanges that might not be easily accessible for the average investors (e.g. Interactive Brokers) as they mainly operate key ports in their respective countries (e.g. in places like Cambodia, Morocco, Egypt, Bahrain, Oman, UAE, Romania, Chile, Peru, etc. which all have port or port terminal operator stocks largely listed locally) where they can be a gauge for local economic activity.
Some of the Chinese port operators also appear to be involved in manufacturing equipment for port operations. Otherwise, I am only aware of one European stock focused on this niche (aka heavy material or container handling equipment).
As for the rest of this post, it includes:
A quick description of the stock with links to the IR page and stock quote(s) on Yahoo! Finance.
A link to any Wikipedia page (for what it might be worth…)
A price/book (most recent quarter) ratio plus forward or trailing P/E and dividend yields linked back to the Yahoo! Finance statistics page.
The latest long term technical chart linked back to Yahoo! Finance.
All stocks not already tagged and added to our index pages have also been added to them:
And as always, this post is provided for informational purposes only (and to make your life easier by providing you with relevant information, links, and charts). It does not constitute investment advice and/or a recommendation…
Asia
East Asia
🇨🇳 China
COSCO SHIPPING Ports Ltd
COSCO SHIPPING Ports Ltd (HKG: 1199 / FRA: CTH / OTCMKTS: CSPKY / CSPKF) is a leading port logistics service provider in the world and its terminals portfolio covers the five main port regions and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China, Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, South America and Africa, etc. As at 31 December 2023, COSCO SHIPPING Ports operated and managed 371 berths at 38 ports globally, of which 224 were for containers, with an annual handling capacity of approximately 123 million TEU.
Subsidiary of COSCO SHIPPING Holdings (HKG: 1919 / SHA: 601919) and it’s parent COSCO Shipping Group would be one if the largest liner carriers in China and one of the largest dry bulk shipping operators worldwide.
Price/Book (Most Recent Quarter): 0.37
Forward P/E: 6.09 / Forward Annual Dividend Yield: 6.10% (Yahoo! Finance)
Jiangsu Lianyungang Port Co Ltd
Jiangsu Lianyungang Port Co Ltd (SHA: 601008) is involved in the transportation of iron ore, coal, non-ferrous ore, laterite nickel ore, steel, plywood, mechanical equipment, grain, alumina, coke, etc.; leasing and maintenance of port machinery, facilities, and equipment; manufacturing, installation, maintenance, and repair of mechanical and electrical equipment; and manufacture and sale of tool rigging. The company also offers facilities and services for passengers waiting for ships, and boarding and disembarking ships; and port cargo loading and unloading, warehousing, general freight, bulk packaging, stockpiling, and port management services. It owns 28 general and specialized berths. Jiangsu Lianyungang Port Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary of Lianyungang Port Group Co., Ltd.
Price/Book (Most Recent Quarter): 1.07
Trailing P/E: 23.00 (no forward P/E) / Forward Annual Dividend Yield: 1.45% (Yahoo! Finance)
Jiangsu Wanlin Modern Logistics Co Ltd
Jiangsu Wanlin Modern Logistics Co Ltd (SHA: 603117) was founded by changing the overall establishment of Jiangsu Wanlin International Timber Limited Company in accordance with the law in June 2011, whose registered capital is 350.50 million yuan. It is not only a Jiangsu provincial key logistics enterprise, but also a demonstrative enterprise on the industrial development of manufacturing and logistics.
Wanlin is situated in Xingang District, which is located on the highly-developed Yangtze Delta Economic Zone. It connects with Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou and Nanjing and through Yangtze River, Beijing-Shanghai expressway, Shanghai-Nanjing expressway, Yangtze River highway and Xinyi-Changxing railway, which makes Wanlin's transportation very convenient and unobstructed. Besides, Wanlin also owns advanced logistics infrastructure.
Its subsidiary, Jingjiang Yingli Port Co., Ltd., which covers an area of 1,000,000 square meters, is 752 meters along the coastline of Yangtze River. It also owns three multi-purpose deep-water berths, timber warehouses, steel futures delivery warehouse and logistics distribution facilities. China Timber & Wood Products Distribution Association identifies it as one of the top ten imported timber ports in China.
Since Wanlin was founded, they have always focused on the comprehensive logistics services of importing wood. Depending on the parent-subsidiary corporation's industry status, which is the domestic important lumber meet discharge terminal, combining with professional ability of wood logistics and wood import agency, their company provides procurement, shipping agency, freight forwarding, port loading and unloading, storage and distribution and logistics information such integrated services.
Price/Book (Most Recent Quarter): 2.38
Forward P/E: N/A / Forward Annual Dividend Yield: N/A (Yahoo! Finance)
