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Freight volume up 3.5% to 190.6 million tonnes
The Port of Antwerp is expected to post a year-on-year increase of 3.5 percent in freight traffic for 2013 later this month.
According to provisional freight figures, the Belgian port handled a total of 190.6 million tonnes during the twelve-month period, making 2013 a record year for Antwerp. The previous record dates back to 2008, the final year before the global financial crisis.
The Antwerp Port Authority attributed the record levels of cargo traffic to strong liquid bulk cargo volumes helping to offset the port’s container traffic, which was slightly down as a result of the continuing recession.
“Liquid bulk has given our port a particularly strong boost,” said port authority CEO Eddy Bruyninckx.
“These freight volume results have been achieved thanks to investments by a number of large players over the past few years. They are also the best proof that conversion of former breakbulk areas into tank storage facilities has paid off for our port.”
“When it comes to containers the stagnating economy continues to weigh on the figures, but this situation applies practically throughout the Hamburg-Le Havre range,” added Bruyninckx.
The volume of liquid bulk rose by 31.9 percent year-over-year to 59,709,998 tonnes, while container volumes fell by 0.7 percent to 8,572,345 TEU. Dry bulk for its part fell by 26.8 percent to 13,984,279 tonnes during the 2013 calendar year.
Definitive figures for Antwerp’s freight volumes are expected later this month.
