Shipments of cargo through the Port of Oulu in the first quarter of 2012 increased by 4.9% compared to January-March 2011, to 892.09 tons, the Port Authority statistics said.
Handling of inbound cargo rose 11.9%, including imports of lumber – 40,800 tons, up 9.3% from O1 2011. Shipments of paper increased by 16% to 215,859 tons.
The three-month volume of outbound cargo grew 8.6% to 283,375 tons.
Container traffic soared 46.1% to 10,651 TEUs. The port loaded / unloaded 444 tractor-trailer trucks (+3.5%). The number of SECU containers (Stora Enso Cargo Unit), handled during the reporting period decreased by 22.7% to 3,067 units.
The Port of Oulu (Oulun Satama) is one of the leading ports for forest industry products and unitized cargo on the Gulf of Bothnia. The harbors in Oritkari, Nuottasaari, Vihreäsaari and Toppila have 500 - 600 ship calls each year. The port specializes in handling exported paper, timber, imported petroleum products and raw materials for the local timber industry. In 2011, cargo throughput at the Port of Oulu soared to its record high ever, 3,567,202 tons.