Port reports slightly higher throughput

25 Jul 2022 / Rotterdam, Netherlands

The volume of total cargo throughput in the port of Rotterdam was 0.8% higher in the first half of the year (233.5 million tonnes) than in the same period in 2021 (231.6 million tonnes).

In many segments, the war in Ukraine led to significant changes. For example, imports of both LNG and coal rose very sharply as an alternative to reduced European imports of Russian gas by pipeline. The throughput of crude oil increased, with oil products falling off. Throughput of iron ore, agricultural bulk and containers was lower than in the same period last year.

Container transport to and from Russia has come to a halt, and persistent bottlenecks in global container logistics caused cargo to shift from large to smaller container ports…

…The dry bulk segment saw an increase of 4.4% in the first half of the year. The throughput of agricultural bulk was down by 15.1%...

…The imports of cokes for the steel industry remained at the same level. Coal throughput for electricity plants rose sharply. On balance, this resulted in a 29.7% increase in coal throughput... …The 30.1% increase in other dry bulk is striking. It is primarily attributable to the high prices for the shipping of containers: cargo that can also be transported in bulk, such as industrial minerals and fertilisers, is therefore being transported in this way more often…

…In the first half of the year, the transport of liquid bulk rose by 4.6%. The 4.3% increase in crude oil was mainly caused by the flow of Russian oil through Rotterdam to India in particular. Refineries in Northwest Europe are switching to non-Russian oil, with the result that Russian oil is finding its way to other markets. The 9.4% decline in the throughput of oil products is mainly due to the structural decline in the imports and re-exports of fuel oil. LNG rose by 45.8%. There is very strong demand for LNG as an alternative to the natural gas entering Europe by pipeline from Russia. The 22.5% increase in other liquid bulk goods can be attributed, on the one hand, to a shift from transport in tank containers to chemical tankers and, on the other, to stockpiling by purchasers of chemical substances...

…The throughput of containers was down 4.4% (in TEUs, the standard unit for containers). The decrease was 8.9% in terms of weight. The difference between the two is attributable to an increase in the number of empty containers…

…Roll-on/roll-off traffic rose by 16.8%. This figure paints a rosy picture because of the end of the Brexit transition period on 1 January 2021. At the time, that led to additional transport in late 2020 and a dip in RO-RO transport in early 2021.

Other break bulk rose sharply by 17.7%. A major factor consisted of imports of steel and non-ferrous metals… …In addition, high container rates mean that more cargo is being shipped as break bulk...

(For information about operations in the Netherlands, contact GAC Netherlands at [email protected])

Source: Extracts from Rotterdam Port Authority (www.portofrotterdam.com) news release dated 22 July 2022

If quoting any content from Hot Port News, please cite GAC Hot Port News as the source.

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