Impact of Ukraine war sees Port of Rotterdam’s 2022 container volumes dip

A virtual standstill in container traffic to and from Russia after the invasion of Ukraine contributed toward a 5.5% drop in container volumes at the Port of Rotterdam, although overall cargo throughput remained relatively unchanged. 

Before the war over 8% of Rotterdam container traffic was related to Russia, with Rotterdam having a 40% market share in this traffic. 

However, the port noted that these volumes all but disappeared after March and, in the fourth quarter, high inflation and lower consumption, in combination with high stocks, led to a further reduction in container throughput to just under 14.5m teu.