Archives



Freight News, Sea


Tonnage standstill masks big changes in Rotterdam

[ October 24, 2022   //   ]

Port of Rotterdam freight volume in the first nine months of 2022 was almost the same as last year at 351 million tonnes (+0.3%) but container traffic decreased, especially as a result of the loss of trade with Russia. Considerably higher volumes of coal and LNG were also imported as alternatives to Russian natural gas.

Chief executive Allard Castelein said: “The total volume makes it seem as if it is business as usual in the port, but the big changes, especially with respect to LNG and coal, indicate that the energy landscape has changed dramatically. With the high energy prices the energy-intensive chemical industry in particular is going through hard times.

“A faster energy transition makes us less dependent on geopolitical developments in the long term. In the short term, we have to do all we can to retain the chemical industry that is so important to our society.”

The container segment dropped by 8.6% in total weight and by 4.4% in TEU with traffic between Russia and Rotterdam, which in normal years would have account for about 8% of total volume, almost at a standstill.

Although container logistics is still being hampered by disruption, the volume decrease means that problems are  gradually becoming smaller. Also the container freight rates have dropped significantly. Both roll-on/roll-off traffic and other breakbulk increased by 15%.

Tags: