Europe liner volumes falling

Europe liner volumes falling    Container volumes in the Europe/North America trade showed a downward trend in the last three months of 2008, according to figures released by the European Liner Affairs Association.
   Westbound transatlantic volumes fell from 312,295 TEU in October to 272,053 in November to 235,836 in December. The ELAA did not have comparable figures for the prior year.
   Eastbound volumes also showed a downward trend: from 275,266 in October to 244,365 in November, to 200,800 in December.
   In the Asia/Europe trade, westbound volumes totaled 1.08 million TEUs in October, 954,571 in November, then rebounded to 970,306 in December. Eastbound volumes showed a steady downtrend: 436,969 in October, 373,774 in November and 369,384 in December.