Marseille Fos cargo volumes jump 18.6% in July

The French Mediterranean port posted a total cargo throughput of 7.8 million metric tons for the month as container volumes grew 12 percent to 112,768 TEUs compared with July 2015.    The Port of Marseille Fos saw total cargo volumes in July jump 18.6 percent to 7.8 million metric tons compared with the same 2015 period, according to data from the port.
   Container throughput at the French Mediterranean port grew 12 percent to 112,768 TEUs compared with July 2015, contributing to an 8 percent increase in general cargo to 1.64 million metric tons.
   The port noted traffic through the Fos deepsea container terminals in the first seven months of 2016 is up 4 percent from the previous year, while the Terminal de Mediterranee in Marseille set a July record for container volumes. 
   Liquid bulks shot up 26 percent in July to 5.11 million metric tons thanks to a 28 percent increase in oil and gas volumes to 4.76 million metric tons. The July oil and gas cargoes included 3 million metric tons of crude imports and 0.62 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG), year-over-year increases of 41 percent and 71 percent, respectively. Throughput of liquid chemicals and agro-products ticked up 4 percent to 0.35 million metric tons.
   Dry bulk volumes grew 3 percent to 1.07 million metric tons for the month, thanks primarily to imports of raw materials for the steel industry rising 8 percent to 0.79 million metric tons.