Genoa heads for a new record

A projected 11.5% increase in teu throughput this past year has firmly established the Port of Genoa as one of the fastest growing container ports in Southern Europe, where traffic at a number of major ports remains flat. In fact, all four of Genoa’s box facilities have registered sharp increases in traffic. In the first eleven months of this year VTE was up 9.2%, SECH 16.4%, Messina 6.3% and Genoa Port Terminal 57.5%.

Although Genoa is strongest in the Far East-Europe trade corridor, which last year accounted for approximately 35% of the port’s total teu throughput, statistics confirm a surge in other trade lanes: in the first nine months of this year, container traffic to/from North America was up by approximately 17%, South America by 111%, the burgeoning North African markets by 28%, the Middle East by 23% and Oceania by approximately 107%.

A strong performance in the container sector industry has been bolstered by investment programmes by the Port Authority and the terminal operating companies which have successfully catered for new market requirements, such as vessel upsizing.