Rotterdam throughput practically stable

The first quarter (January-March) 2014 volumes at the Port of Rotterdam reached 109m tonnes, just 0.2% below the level for the corresponding period last year, with containers seeing a one percent increase to a total of 30m tonnes at 2.9m teu, matching the number of units handled in Q1 2013.

Growth was achieved in both the deep-sea (Asia and North America) and short-sea markets; trade to Baltic Sea countries increased through relocation of transhipment cargo from other ports to Rotterdam, which, along with shipments to the UK, increased due to economic growth in those countries.  Ro-ro traffic improved by 9% (400,000 tonnes) thanks to the improving British economy.

“The falling tendency of the second half of 2013 continued initially, but thanks to a strong month in March, the throughput in the first three months nonetheless stayed almost the same,” explained Allard Castelein, the port authority’s CEO.