Antwerp reports 5% growth in cargo

Container cargo once again experienced very strong growth. In terms of tonnage, volumes rose by 10.2% to 40.45 million tonnes, while in terms of teu they increased by 10.7% to 3.5 million teu. Container handling in the Deurganck dock is now getting up to speed, says the port, and container cargo volumes are expected to continue growing strongly for the rest of the year.

The volume of conventional/breakbulk cargo handled in the first half was down 2.2% year-on-year to a little over 9 million tonnes, due to an 11.6% fall in imports. Bulk cargo grew only slightly at 1.1%. Volumes of commodities such as wood, steel and fruit declined, but there were big increases in cargoes such as sugar, flour and fertilisers. Ro-ro cargo grew strongly on the export side, by 12.3%, but a 4.4% decline in imports limited overall ro-ro growth to 3.3%.

For the first time in a long while, the number of ocean-going ships calling at the port increased. From January to the end of June, a total of 7,547 sea-going ships called at Antwerp, an increase of 3.3% year-on-year. As a result, the port’s gross registered tonnage rose by 7.9% to 130.6 million tonnes.