During the first nine months of this year the port of Antwerp handled a total of 142 million tonnes of freight (142,074,576 tonnes). This represents an increase of 7.5% compared with the first nine months of 2010, when the volume came to 132 million tonnes. The first half of the year proved to be fairly strong, but this was followed by a slowdown in growth during the third quarter, the Port Authority said Monday.
The container volume in Antwerp was up by 2.7% in comparison with the period from January to September 2010, from 77.1 to 79.2 million tonnes. In terms of standard containers (twenty foot equivalent units) the volume amounted to 6.5 million TEU, representing an increase of 3.1%.
The volume of conventional/breakbulk freight rose strongly, with 16.0% more being loaded and unloaded from January to September than in the same period last year. The total volume for the first nine months came to 9.7 million tonnes. Steel, the absolute leader in this segment, experienced particularly strong growth of 37.3%, rising to 6.5 million tonnes. It seems that the planned closure of the Arcelor Mittal blast furnaces in Liège will not have any significant effect on the position of steel in the port of Antwerp. Last year the amount of coal and ore imported through Antwerp amounted to 750,000 tonnes. “The loss of this trade will make itself felt in the figures for bulk, but our handling companies still have many advantages,” declared Port Authority CEO Eddy Bruyninckx. “When it comes to finished and semi-finished products these companies respond excellently to the needs of the world market. Further, the freight handlers do more than simply load and unload the steel in the docks: they also process it.”
For the rest, however, the results for conventional/breakbulk were mixed: the volume of paper and cellulose (0.56 million tonnes) was down by 33.0%, while the fruit volume (1 million tonnes) was up by 2.8% and wood (0.25 million tonnes) up by 55.9%.
In the ro/ro sector the port of Antwerp experienced an expansion of 11.3%, to 3.0 million tonnes. The number of cars handled rose by 15.2%, with 772,836 vehicles being loaded and unloaded from January to September.
The volume of bulk freight rose by 14.0% in the first nine months of 2011, to 50.1 million tonnes. The increase was mainly due to the rise in liquid bulk, which was up by 21.6% to 35.6 million tonnes. The volume of oil derivatives (23.15 million tonnes) too rose by 31.3%, while chemicals (8.67 million tonnes) were up by 9.1%.
Dry bulk for its part was down by 1.2%, to 14.47 million tonnes. Growth was experienced by among others coal (up 2.9% to 3.99 million tonnes), grain (up 13.8% to 0.79 million tonnes) and sand and gravel (up 4.7% to 1.2 million tonnes). On the other hand there was contraction in the volumes of ore (down 9.9% to 2.18 million tonnes), fertilisers (down 2.3 % to 3.47 million tonnes) and scrap metal (down 16.9% to 0.85 million tonnes).
The container volume in Antwerp was up by 2.7% in comparison with the period from January to September 2010, from 77.1 to 79.2 million tonnes. In terms of standard containers (twenty foot equivalent units) the volume amounted to 6.5 million TEU, representing an increase of 3.1%.
The volume of conventional/breakbulk freight rose strongly, with 16.0% more being loaded and unloaded from January to September than in the same period last year. The total volume for the first nine months came to 9.7 million tonnes. Steel, the absolute leader in this segment, experienced particularly strong growth of 37.3%, rising to 6.5 million tonnes. It seems that the planned closure of the Arcelor Mittal blast furnaces in Liège will not have any significant effect on the position of steel in the port of Antwerp. Last year the amount of coal and ore imported through Antwerp amounted to 750,000 tonnes. “The loss of this trade will make itself felt in the figures for bulk, but our handling companies still have many advantages,” declared Port Authority CEO Eddy Bruyninckx. “When it comes to finished and semi-finished products these companies respond excellently to the needs of the world market. Further, the freight handlers do more than simply load and unload the steel in the docks: they also process it.”
For the rest, however, the results for conventional/breakbulk were mixed: the volume of paper and cellulose (0.56 million tonnes) was down by 33.0%, while the fruit volume (1 million tonnes) was up by 2.8% and wood (0.25 million tonnes) up by 55.9%.
In the ro/ro sector the port of Antwerp experienced an expansion of 11.3%, to 3.0 million tonnes. The number of cars handled rose by 15.2%, with 772,836 vehicles being loaded and unloaded from January to September.
The volume of bulk freight rose by 14.0% in the first nine months of 2011, to 50.1 million tonnes. The increase was mainly due to the rise in liquid bulk, which was up by 21.6% to 35.6 million tonnes. The volume of oil derivatives (23.15 million tonnes) too rose by 31.3%, while chemicals (8.67 million tonnes) were up by 9.1%.
Dry bulk for its part was down by 1.2%, to 14.47 million tonnes. Growth was experienced by among others coal (up 2.9% to 3.99 million tonnes), grain (up 13.8% to 0.79 million tonnes) and sand and gravel (up 4.7% to 1.2 million tonnes). On the other hand there was contraction in the volumes of ore (down 9.9% to 2.18 million tonnes), fertilisers (down 2.3 % to 3.47 million tonnes) and scrap metal (down 16.9% to 0.85 million tonnes).
The number of seagoing ships calling at the port rose by 5.6%, to 11,630. The gross tonnage for its part rose by 11.3% to 238,990,232 GT.