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Volumes down 2.8% in first quarter, and throughput up 1.4%
Antwerp Port saw container volumes slip 2.8 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2013 despite cargo throughput climbing 1.4 percent.
The Belgian port handled 46,997,502 tonnes of freight and 2,126,254 TEU in the first three months of the year.
In terms of tonnage the volume fell by 5.7 percent to 25,463,064 tonnes. In the same period last year the figure was 27,000,161 tonnes.
There was though better news in regards to liquid bulk volumes, which rose 37.4 percent to 14,208,642 tonnes, an absolute record.
The volume of dry bulk on the other hand was down by 33.2 percent to 3,557,499 tonnes, as coal and ore volumes notably low falling 69.1 percent and 12.4 percent respectively.
In the conventional breakbulk sector 2,649,074 tonnes of freight was loaded or unloaded, an increase of 4.4 percent year-over-year. Gains were also experienced by paper and cellulose, up 23.8 percent to 260,393 tonnes and non-ferrous metals, up 26.8 percent to 116,038 tonnes.
The ro/ro volume for its part was down 0.5 percent to 1,119,223 tonnes, while autos rose 5.5 percent to 305,707 units.
The number of seagoing ships calling at Antwerp during the first quarter of 2013 was down 1.2 percent to 3,587, when compared to last year. However, the gross tonnage of vessels rose by three percent to 79.8 million.
