A positive rebound in trade volumes saw total trade through the Port of Melbourne in December 2009 increase 6.6 percent on the corresponding month the previous year.

"We are always cautious about drawing conclusions on trends from one month's trade results but the signs are very encouraging," said , Port of Melbourne Corporatin's (PoMC) chief executive officer, Stephen Bradford.

"This positive trade figure provides an important point of comparison given that the impact of the global financial crisis started to have an influence on port trade in December 2008."

The core container trade increased 4.4 percent overall resulting in the Port of Melbourne handling an average of over 6200 containers a day for December (194,184 TEUs in total).

Full international container exports underpinned the boost in container volumes increasing 6.3 percent on the same period the previous year. Wheat (up 73 percent), wine (up 54 percent), pulp and wastepaper (up 25 percent) all contributed to the strong export performance which has seen full international container exports maintain an upward trend increasing 4.6 percent for the financial year to date.

Full international container imports rose 12.5 percent over the previous December, boosted by insulation material (up 244 percent), rubber manufactures (up 36 percent), furniture (up 28 percent) and clothing (up 21 percent). Mirroring exports, full international container imports are down 4.6% for the financial year to date.

In a further encouraging sign, new motor vehicle trade posted its third consecutive month of growth increasing 33.8 percent on December 2008 to be down just 7.4 percent for the year to date. Imports of new passenger vehicles were the single biggest contributor to the December result increasing 61.2 percent while transport equipment imports also rose 17.4 percent.