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RoRo traffic climbs four percent, Container volumes fall
The Port of Gothenburg, Scandinavia’s largest port, saw RoRo traffic rise for the first time in three years during the 2013 calendar year.
However, containers shipped through the Swedish port fell by five percent to 858,000 TEU, when compared to 2012 levels, according to freight figures released this week.
Around 30 percent of Swedish foreign trade passes through the Port of Gothenburg. For the last couple of years, the trend for European flows has been in decline although global trade figures have remained more stable. During 2013 the trend was reversed. RoRo traffic, which accounts for a large proportion of freight movements in Europe, increased for the first time since 2010. In total, 557,000 Ro-Ro units were shipped, up four percent on 2012.
“We have spoken for a long time about the trend in European trade bottoming out,” said Port of Gothenburg chief executive, Magnus Kårestedt.
“We can now see the first indications for a long time that Swedish industry is increasing its trade with other countries in Europe, which is extremely pleasing.”
A total of 163,000 new passenger cars passed through the Port of Gothenburg last year. During the first half of the year, volumes fell by 18 percent but a strong 24 percent recovery during the autumn meant that volumes for the year remained unchanged compared to 2012.
Passenger traffic for its part was up 1 percent during 2013, the year-end figure standing at 1.7 million. Stena Line accounts for the largest proportion of traffic by far with its daily services to Fredrikshavn and Kiel. The number of cruise vessels has risen substantially in recent years although 2013 was something of an off-year with just 39 visits compared to 69 in 2012.
“Happily, bookings for 2014 and 2015 are looking very good,” said Kårestedt.
“This year we will set a new cruise record with 70 visits and 120,000 passengers.”
