Marseille Fos freight throughput rises 4.1% in 2015

The French port handled 81.7 million metric tons of cargo in 2015 and expects to handle 83.7 million metric tons of cargo in 2016.    The Marseille Fos Port, situated in France along the Mediterranean coast, handled 81.7 million metric tons of cargo in 2015, a 4.1 percent increase from 2014, according to the most recent figures from the port.
   General cargo volumes totaled 17.9 million metric tons, a 1 percent year-over-year increase, which Marseille Fos Port attributed to record container throughput. Container traffic in terms of tonnage rose 4 percent from 2014 to 11.7 million metric tons, while in terms of TEUs, container volumes grew 3.5 percent to 1.22 million TEUs.
   “Box throughput was boosted by four new services from Marseille and two from Fos  – extending intra-Mediterranean, West Africa and Indian Ocean/Oceania coverage – and by capacity increases of up to 60 percent on the O3 (Asia/US) and G6 (Asia) alliances operating through Fos,” the port said. “A new Marseille-Middle East con-ro (container and roll-on/roll-off) service is now about to start, as well as a ro-ro (roll-on/roll-off) line serving Civitavecchia (Rome).”
   The general cargo’s ro-ro segment contributed 3.8 million metric tons in 2015, a 4 percent year-over-year increase, while conventional trades tumbled 15 percent year-over-year to 2.4 million metric tons.
   Liquid bulk volumes totaled 49.9 million metric tons, while dry bulk volumes reached 13.9 million metric tons, year-over-year increases of 5 percent and 3 percent, respectively.
   Looking ahead, the port expects to handle 83.7 million metric tons of cargo in 2016. Growth projections are supported by an 83 million euro (U.S. $90.8 million) investment budget for the year, compared to the port’s 45 million euro investment budget for 2015.