Marseilles port sees box volume drop stabilizing

Marseilles port sees box volume drop stabilizing    The Port of Marseilles Fos said it is hoping that March signals 'a return to normal' in cargo throughput as 'container and oil volumes began to claw back from a decline caused by the global economic crisis.'
   First quarter container traffic at the port's deep sea terminal, fell 16 percent to 157,039 TEUs, but was down just 1 percent for March, to 63,627 TEUs. The port said three new weekly services from Maersk, CMA CGM, MSC and Turkon helped boost volume.
   Total box throughput, including transshipment, was down 21 percent for the first quarter to 206,807 TEUs, after a 33 percent slump in trans-Mediterranean traffic handled in the Marseilles harbor area, but the overall March deficit narrowed to 13 percent.
   General cargo traffic fell 24 percent to 3.27 million tons, roll-on/roll-off traffic was down 9 percent to 940,000 tons, and conventional volumes, largely steel products, fell by almost half to 340,000 tons. Dry bulk cargo crashed 51 percent to 1.6 million tons while liquid bulk, mainly chemicals, fell 16 percent to 640,000 tons.