Port of Rotterdam 1Q16 throughput

The Port of Rotterdam handled approximately the same volume of cargo in 1Q16 as in the same period last year. An increase in the volume of, mainly, crude oil and oil products put through the port was offset by a more or less equivalent decrease in the volume of dry bulk and containers. The total volume of cargo handled in the port increased to 116.9 million t (0.2% increase).

Port of Rotterdam Authority CEO, Allard Castelein, said: “The port’s throughput grew by 4.9% in 2015. Our ambition is to match this high throughput volume in the present year. So far we are on course – but we still have three quarters to go.”

The key cargo types within the dry bulk category are iron ore, scrap metal and coal. There was a 6.1% decrease in the throughput of iron ore & scrap metal (7.8 million t).

The volume of coal put through Rotterdam increased by 2.9% (7.9 million t).

A 18.6% decrease in the import of raw materials for the metal industry and the construction sector, combined with a decrease in the export of fly ash, resulted in lower throughput volumes for other dry bulk (2.7 million t).

There was a 1.2% increase in the volume of agri-bulk handled in the port (2.5 million t). All in all, the throughput of dry bulk decreased by 4% to 21.0 million t.

The volume of containers handled via the port decreased by 3.1%, to 31.0 million t, and by 3.9% to 3.0 million TEU (standard container capacity unit).

Edited from press release by Angharad Lock

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/handling/25042016/port-of-rotterdam-1q-throughput-mirrors-2015-650/