THE French Port of Le Havre handled 1.1 million TEU in the first half of the year, representing a decrease of eight per cent compared to the same period last year.
The result put Le Havre ahead of rival Marseilles, which saw its first half throughput rise by three per cent to 435,400 TEU.
Le Havre's total cargo volume fell by 1.7 per cent during the reporting period to 38.2 million tons of cargo compared to the first six months of 2008.
Key developments coming to Le Havre include the construction of an additional 2,100 metres of container quay this year as part of a US$450 million project to increase container handling capacity to more than four million TEU, reports Newark's Journal of Commerce.
It attributed Le Havre's first half result to winning back cargo lost to European rivals Antwerp and Rotterdam a year ago when its dockers staged three months of rolling strikes to protest against privatisation.
In the first half of the year, the Antwerp's container traffic declined 18.5 per cent to 3.6 million TEU and Rotterdam's box volume decreased by 15 per cent to 4.6 million TEU.
Antwerp's total traffic fell by 19.9 per cent to 77 million tons, while Rotterdam slid 13.4 per cent to 185 million tons.
The result put Le Havre ahead of rival Marseilles, which saw its first half throughput rise by three per cent to 435,400 TEU.
Le Havre's total cargo volume fell by 1.7 per cent during the reporting period to 38.2 million tons of cargo compared to the first six months of 2008.
Key developments coming to Le Havre include the construction of an additional 2,100 metres of container quay this year as part of a US$450 million project to increase container handling capacity to more than four million TEU, reports Newark's Journal of Commerce.
It attributed Le Havre's first half result to winning back cargo lost to European rivals Antwerp and Rotterdam a year ago when its dockers staged three months of rolling strikes to protest against privatisation.
In the first half of the year, the Antwerp's container traffic declined 18.5 per cent to 3.6 million TEU and Rotterdam's box volume decreased by 15 per cent to 4.6 million TEU.
Antwerp's total traffic fell by 19.9 per cent to 77 million tons, while Rotterdam slid 13.4 per cent to 185 million tons.
