The European Port of Antwerp handled 87 million tonnes of freight during the first six months of the year, an increase of 12.7 per cent compared with the first half of last year when the volume came to 77 million tonnes.
Container throughput in Antwerp was up by nearly 20 per cent in comparison with the period from January-June 2009, from 42.9 to 51.3 million tonnes. Alternatively, this came to just over four million TEU, up 16.2 per cent to 4.2 million TEU.
"This result gets us back to 2008 levels and confirms Antwerp's position as Europe's second largest container port," said Antwerp Port Authority CEO Eddy Bruyninckx. "However, the positive trend in 2010 does not mean that we can afford to be any less careful about further developments."
The volume of bulk freight rose by 4.1 per cent in the first half of 2010 to 28.2 million tonnes. The increase was mainly due to the rise in dry bulk, which was up by 24.7 per cent to 9.8 million tonnes.
The volume of conventional/breakbulk freight was up only slightly, with 1.2 per cent more being loaded and unloaded from January to June. The total amount for the first six months was 5.5 million tonnes. This is 43.6 per cent less than in 2007 and 34.8 per cent less than in 2008. "Conventional/breakbulk remains an area of concern, as the decline cannot be explained entirely by the state of the economy," a statement from port authorities said.
Source : Shipping Gazette
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