In the Netherlands, the Port of Rotterdam Authority has announced that cargo throughput increased by 1.7 per cent to 333m tonnes during the first nine months of 2012.
According to the Authority, growth was entirely down to exports, with incoming cargo stable and outgoing cargo up 7 per cent.
The supply of containers dropped slightly, but outgoing cargo increased by 5 per cent to 48.7m tonnes – 2.5m tonnes more than the incoming containers. Total container throughput in tonnes increased by 1.7 per cent.
There was a drop of 1.1 per cent in 20ft container units to 8.9m TEU, due in part to fewer empty containershandled during the first half of the year.
'Throughput in the port enjoyed a good third quarter mainly due to the oil sector,' said Hans Smits, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority. 'Growth weakened during the third quarter due to declining world trade while the corresponding quarter of 2011 was relatively strong. Across the entire year, we still expect a small growth of approximately 1 per cent.'
