BRUSSELS: The port of Antwerp handled a freight volume of 51,023,670 tonnes in the first three months of this year, 5.9% more than in the same period last year. The container volume experienced rapid expansion of 8.5%, while liquid bulk for its part continued to show solid growth (up 4.7%), the Port Authority said in a press release.
The container volume expanded by 8.5% during the first quarter, to 28,216,101 tonnes. In terms of standard containers this represents 2,351,299 TEU, an increase of 9.5%.
The ro/ro volume on the other hand contracted by 8.7% to 1,081,344 tonnes, with the number of cars handled falling by 6.9% to 291,900. The conventional freight volume also shrank, by 3.5%, with 2,322,921 tonnes being handled during the first quarter.
At 1,566,113 tonnes the steel volume was practically the same as last year (up just 0.3%). The dip in the breakbulk segment is due among other things to a decline in the amount of fruit handled (down 37.7% to 173,321 tonnes).
The volume of liquid bulk handled in the port during the past three months rose by 4.7% to 15,801,788 tonnes. Petroleum derivatives for their part amounted to 11,931,034 tonnes, an increase of 8.0%. By contrast, chemicals (down 3.0% to 2,650,778 tonnes) and crude oil (down 7.0% to 1,135,059 tonnes) contracted during the first quarter.
