Port of Rotterdam’s box volumes soar

Although overall cargo tonnage through the port inched up a modest 1.7 percent in 2017 from a year prior, container tonnage rose 10.9 percent.    The Port of Rotterdam’s container throughput surged in 2017, with the port handling 13.7 million TEUs weighing 142.6 million metric tons, up 10.9 percent and 12.3 percent, respectively, from 2016 figures.
   Including dry and wet bulk cargo, breakbulk and roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) cargo, the port handled 467 million metric tons of cargo, a 1.3 percent increase from the 461 million metric tons handled in 2016.
   The increase in containers was offset by a fall in dry bulk of 2.6 percent and in wet bulk of 4.1 percent. Breakbulk cargo, including ro-ro shipments, increased by 7 percent.
   “The Port of Rotterdam has had a good year,” Port of Rotterdam Authority CEO Allard Castelein said.
   “The container sector is particularly important because it plays an essential role in creating added value, such as employment in the port and the hinterland,” Castelein said. “I am also satisfied with the high level of investment because it will allow us to facilitate our new and existing customers even better.”
   For 2018, the port anticipates throughput will rise even further, but in the container sector, it expects growth to be slower than the “exceptional growth” seen in 2017.
   The port said its share of the container market is now at its highest level since 2000.
   Compared to 2016, feeder volumes, as measured in TEUs, were up 21 percent for all European shipping areas, and in particular, Scandinavia and the Baltic states.
   Short sea shipping volumes, as measured in TEUs, rose 10.2 percent from 2016 “with a particularly sharp increase in throughput for services to and from the Mediterranean and Scandinavian and Baltic countries.”
   Looking ahead, the port said it is making progress in the field of digitalization to make the port and logistics chains smarter and to safeguard “seamless throughput.”
   “Together with customers, our partners in the chain and digital platforms, we are making sure that the most promising digital innovations are being developed in Rotterdam,” it said. “The port authority assumes an active role in the collection of data and information, and in making them available.”
   The port also said it expects to encounter headwinds this year due to challenges related to Brexit.