Marseilles targets China volumes

   The Port of Marseilles-Fos said its container volume has grown 14 percent year-on-year through the first five months of 2012.
   The French port handled 431,718 TEUs during the period.
   Meanwhile, port officials said they hope to grow volume from China by taking advantage of the extra sailing times generated by liner carriers’ slow steaming programs.
   “The port is focused on winning new traffic from China – already its main container client – based on the introduction of ‘slow steaming,’ which has added five days to ship rotations serving ports in Northern Europe,” the port said, highlighting Marseilles’ intermodal links and logistics parks development, with large users like home furnishings shipper IKEA.