Port of Antwerp sees growth in 2016

Container volume up 4.1%

At 4.1% the growth in container volume is even more pronounced: after 12 months the figure stood at 117 909 533 t of containerised freight. Expressed in terms of standard containers (20 ft equivalent units) the total of 10 037 318 TEU has risen above the 10 million TEU mark for the first time in the history of the port. However there were negative figures in 2016 for conventional breakbulk (down 2.0%) and dry bulk (down 9.1%).

Containers and breakbulk

The container segment experienced strong growth both in tonnes and in the number of containers. In terms of TEU the number of containers handled last year rose by 4%, while in terms of tonnage the figure was slightly higher at 4.1%. The fact that the growth was 0.1% lower than at the end of the previous year was due to the thick mist that blanketed the port during the last days of December and caused delays for some large container carriers.

The volume of ro/ro cargo for its part was down by 1.8% to 4 568 874 t, with the number of cars handled falling by 2.8% to 1 189 563. Conventional breakbulk experienced a similar drop, down 2.0% to 9 803 718 t at the end of 2016.

Liquid bulk

The liquid bulk volume expanded during the past 12 months by 3.8% to 69 224 501 t. Oil derivatives were up by as much as 7.1%, to 51 310 284 t. In the meantime there was further grown in the amount of chemicals, up 1.1% to 13 592 806 t. However imports and exports of crude oil fell over the course of the year, finishing down 17.4% at 3 977 722 t.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/petrochemicals/18012017/port-of-antwerp-sees-growth-in-2016/