Port of Rotterdam sees 2015 volumes rise 4.9%

The European port handled 466.4 million tons of cargo in 2015, a 4.9 percent increase from the prior year, which primarily resulted from a surge in crude oil and oil products.    The Port of Rotterdam handled 466.4 million tons of cargo in 2015, a 4.9 percent increase from 2014, which primarily resulted from the surge in crude oil and oil products, the Port of Rotterdam Authority said.
   For the container sector, the port handled 12.2 million TEUs in 2015, a 0.5 percent year-over-year decline. In terms of tonnage, container volumes dropped 1.1 percent to 126.2 million tons.
   During 2015, the volumes of containers transport to Asia, which rose 2 percent from 2014, was the most comprehensive trade flow, according to the authority. Container transport to Latin America and North America dropped, while container transport to the Iberian Peninsula and Great Britain increased.
   For the breakbulk sector, throughput totaled 27.7 million tons in 2015, a 6.5 percent increase from 2014. Specific breakbulk commodity volumes included roll-on/roll-off transport, which jumped 10.1 percent to 22 million tons; and other general cargo, which fell 5.5 percent to 5.7 million tons. The primary reason for the decline in general cargo volumes in 2015 was a one-time flow of incoming container cranes in 2014.
   For the liquid bulk sector, volumes totaled 224.6 million tons in 2015, a 10.9 percent increase from the prior year. Crude oil volumes totaled 103.1 million tons, while volumes of mineral oil products reached 88.5 million tons, year-over-year increases of 8.1 percent and 18 percent, respectively.
   “Low oil prices result in high margins for the refineries, so they have large quantities of oil shipped in for refining,” Port of Rotterdam Authority CEO Allard Castelein said in a statement. “This not only applies to the refineries in Europe but also to those in Russia. The latter produce a relatively large amount of fuel oil which is shipped to the Far East via Rotterdam.”
   Additionally, LNG volumes for the year totaled 2.3 million tons, a 91.4 percent increase from 2014, while other liquid bulk volumes fell 0.5 percent to 30.7 million tons.
   For the dry bulk sector, throughput reached 87.7 million tons in 2015, a 1 percent decline from 2014. Specific dry bulk commodity volumes included iron ore and scrap, which dropped 0.6 percent to 33.9 million tons; coal, which inched up 1 percent to 30.7 million tons; agribulk, which fell 3.8 percent to 10.8 million tons; and other dry bulk, which declined 3.9 percent to 12.3 million tons.