Container throughput at the Port of Rotterdam increased by 2.2 per cent in the first three quarters of the year, reaching 10.4 million TEUs.
Total throughput in tonnes equalled 328.6 million tonnes compared to 329.9 million tonnes in the same period of the previous year. However, outgoing throughput in tonnes increased by 3.0 per cent from 98.1 million tonnes to 101.1 million tonnes.
Dry bulk throughput declined by 0.9 per cent in the first three months of 2024, compared to 2023.
The throughput of liquid bulk fell by 1.7 per cent in the first nine months of this year. This is due to a reduced throughput of crude oil, LNG and other liquid bulk.
Throughput of the breakbulk segment (RoRo and other breakbulk) showed a decline of 4.7 per cent. RoRo traffic declined further by 3.5 per cent to 19.2 million tonnes due to the economic situation in the UK.
The other breakbulk segment also fell by 9.5 per cent to 4.5 million tonnes due to less storage and throughput of steel and non-ferrous metal.
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Boudewijn Siemons, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, said: “Global trade saw a tentative recovery in recent months. Consumer confidence has increased and this translated to a growth in container throughput.
“The drop in the throughput in other segments sadly shows that European industry is still wrestling with a weak competitive position due to high energy costs. These developments come as no surprise.
“We continue to deal with major challenges on the geopolitical stage and in the global supply chains. We therefore don’t expect to see any major shifts in commodity flows in the remaining months of this year.”
