Archives



Freight News, Road, Sea


Fruit and veg woes hits DFDS volume

[ April 12, 2023   //   ]

Ferry operator DFDS said its March North Sea volumes were below last year mainly due to a drop in vegetable and fruit shipments between the Netherlands, caused by high energy prices. However, its Mediterranean volumes were above last year adjusted for the closure of the Izmir-Tarragona route.

Channel volumes were below last year due to a continued market decrease, suspension of sailings by rival operator P&O Ferries in March 2022 – which boosted DFDS’s own carryings that year – and a negative impact from the entry of a third ferry operator, Irish Ferries.

Baltic Sea volumes also remained depressed by the war in Ukraine.

For the last twelve months 2023-22, the total transported freight lane metres decreased 6.0% to 40.8m from 43.4m in 2022-21. The decrease was 2.5% adjusted for the closed Izmir-Tarragona route.

However, the number of ferry passengers continued to recover, increasing 76.2% to 235,000 or 85% of volumes in March 2019, the latest comparable month pre-Covid-19. The number of cars equalled 76% of 2019 volumes.

Tags: