Port of Rotterdam achieved new throughput record in 2012

Following a slight increase in 2012 responsible persons in the port of Rotterdam are expecting modest growth of sea cargo throughput in 2013 as well
 
The port of Rotterdam has moderate confidence for the development of sea cargo throughput in 2013. In view of the prospects of the development of the Dutch and European, and especially the German economies, the management expects modest growth of around 2 per cent to 450 million tonnes for 2013. “The throughput is expected to increase slightly faster in the subsequent years, on the one hand, because the economic prospects for 2014 are better and on the other hand, because the current investments in tank storage, container terminals and coal-fired power plants will result in more throughput over time,” they state in a press release.
 
Despite the ailing economy, freight throughput in the port of Rotterdam grew by 1.7 per cent in 2012. A total of 442 million tonnes of cargo went through the port. Hans Smits, President and CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority: “Although the growth is limited, it is another record for Rotterdam. Container throughput increased slightly in 2012, thanks especially to exports. In the dry bulk market segment, the declining steel production in Europe was responsible for reduced throughput, especially of ore. This shift was more than compensated by the growth in liquid bulk.”
 
The continuing economic slump means less cargo is imported and more is exported. The balance of those two is a growth of 2 per cent in tonnage to 126 million tonnes. The throughput in numbers of containers (TEU) stayed the same at 11.9 million TEU. Roll on/roll off increased by 3 per cent, despite the ailing British economy. Other general cargo dropped by 23 per cent, due especially to the greatly reduced import of steel.In dry bulk, less cargo was handled across the board. Bad harvests in major grain and oil seed exporting countries and the ensuing high prices caused agribulk throughput to drop by 18 per cent. Iron ore and scrap dropped 12 per cent due to the low steel production in Europe. Several blast furnaces have closed. Throughput of cokes coal (used in blast furnaces) did not keep pace with the drop in iron ore handling, because cargo flows were bundled and now go via the port of Rotterdam. Cokes coal throughput dropped nevertheless by 4 per cent. The throughput of crude oil increased this year by 6 per cent, putting it back at the ‘normal’ level.

Quelle: LogEastics

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