Port of Antwerp sees growth in freight volumes

The Belgian port attributed the growth in cargo throughput primarily to increases in the container freight and liquid bulk sectors.

   The Port of Antwerp handled 104,529,242 tons of freight in the first half of 2015, up 6.4 percent from the same period last year.
   The port attributed the growth primarily to increases in the container freight and liquid bulk sectors. Conventional breakbulk volumes, however, lagged behind the other sectors in terms of growth.
   The formation of container shipping alliances has worked in the port’s favor in the first half of the year, leading to sharp growth in container volumes, the Port of Antwerp said, but breakbulk volumes were down due to a decrease in fruit volumes.
   Container volumes for the first half of 2015 were up 9.5 percent to 4,836,243 TEUs and up 7.4 percent in tonnage to 57,501,825 tons compared to the same period last year.
   The Deurganck dock, in particular, saw a sharp increase in container volumes, jumping 28.2 percent compared with the first half of 2014. The port expects volumes at the Deurganck dock to continue to increase once ocean carrier MSC moves its operations there from the Delwaide dock.
   Antwerp’s conventional breakbulk sector was down 3.9 percent to 4,832,961 tons in the first half of the year.
   Iron and steel volumes increased 1.3 percent to 3,336,782 tons.
   Ro-ro volumes were up 3.9 percent to 2,436,890 tons, despite the fact that the number of cars handled at the port fell 9.6 percent to 581,458 cars.
   Liquid bulk volumes grew 7.4 percent to 32,667,400 tons, as the handling of oil derivatives and chemicals increased 2.8 percent to 23,004,129 tons and 32 percent to 7,237,817 tons, respectively.
   The port’s dry bulk segment increased 3.2 percent to 7,090,166 tons. Sand and gravel volumes did extremely well, surging 54.2 percent to 996,204 tons, while coal volumes fell 1.5 percent to 827,353 tons.
   Overall, 7,075 seagoing ships called the Port of Antwerp during the first half of 2015, up 1.2 percent. Gross tonnage rose 5.9 percent to 174,837,974 tons.