Strikes halt Marseilles-Fos’ box volume growth

Strikes halt Marseilles-Fos’ box volume growth    The Port of Marseille Authority said that industrial disputes and declining trade with North Africa negatively impacted its container throughput for 2005, which was down 1 percent to 908,000 TEUs.
   In 2004, the port of Marseilles-Fos handled 916,600 TEUs.
   The 2005 total for the Fos terminal, handling mainly east/west trades, increased 3 percent to 607,000 TEUs from 593,600 TEUs. The Marseilles terminal, used mainly for north/south services, declined 8 percent to 301,000 TEUs compared to 323,000 TEUs in 2004.
   Driven by increased oil volumes, total port traffic for the year, including bulk cargoes, was up 2.7 percent to 96.6 million tons.
   “The performance would have been better but for the impact of internal and external industrial disputes,” the authority said.
   In September, CGT union members employed at the French port went on a sympathy strike, opposing plans to privatize the state-owned ferry operator SNCM.
   The authority anticipates a “positive net result” for 2005 after it estimated annual revenue of euros 174 million ($213 million), representing a 5 percent increase over 2004.