The port of Antwerp handled 47,374,451 tonnes of freight in the first three months of this year, up 12.7% on the same period in 2010 and higher than the level reached at the same point in the record year of 2008.

The Port of Antwerp gets off to an excellent start in Q1

According to Port Authority CEO Eddy Bruyninckx the port has clearly shaken off the recession, even if the volumes of conventional/breakbulk and dry bulk continue to lag. “Both these sectors suffered heavily during the recession, but are slowly recovering. Moreover, the recovery is not simply related to the state of the economy,” he said.

Container volumes in Q1 grew by 7.9% to 2,172,323 teu, with Antwerp container handlers never previously having such a good first quarter.

In the conventional/breakbulk field 2,926,057 tonnes of freight was handled, an increase of 11.7% compared with 2010, with liquid and dry bulk volumes increasing by 20.4%, to 17,205,896 tonnes.