The Port of Rotterdam, the busiest port in Europe, has said its cargo volumes increased by 1% in the third quarter of 2019 compared to the same period last year.
In a statement, the Port posted volumes of 112.4 million tonnes, which takes it total traffic in 2019 to 353.5 million tonnes. The growth was mainly driven by containers, crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and biomass, but there was a fall in coal and mineral oil.
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Since the beginning of 2019 its container traffic increased by 3.3% higher when measured by tonnage and 3.8% by TEU.
The growth largely took place in the first six months of the year and levelled out in the third quarter due to an overall slowdown in global trade and a fall in short sea volume of freight being shipped to the Eastern Mediterranean.
Allard Castelein, the Port of Rotterdam’s CEO, said: “In the third quarter we again saw healthy growth in terms of containers, one of the Port Authority’s strategic spearheads.
“What is worrying, however, is that the relationship between the world’s major trading blocs remains strained, as does the continuing uncertainty about the introduction of trade tariffs after Brexit.”
