The Port of Antwerp has reported on first quarter of 2012 in which it handled some 46.3m tonnes of freight, down 2.2 per cent on the same period of the previous year, despite a good container performance.
According to the Antwerp Port Authority, container freight actually increased despite days of strikes, up 2.9 per cent to just over 27m tonnes from 26.2m tonnes in the opening quarter of 2011.
In terms of standard 20ft-equivalent containers, the volume was 2.2m TEUs, up 0.7 per cent on the prior-year period.
Throughout the quarter, there were 3,629 calls by seagoing ships at the Belgian Port, down 3 per cent year-on-year, although gross tonnage actually grew 4 per cent to 77.5m.
