Marseille Fos sees record March container volumes

The French port increased total throughput 6.9% year-over-year in the first quarter, driven by strong growth in container and crude cargoes.    The Port of Marseille Fos increased first quarter 2015 throughput at its terminals 6.9 percent to 20.1 million tons compared to first quarter 2014.
   Container traffic at the French port was up 8 percent to 312,820 TEUs, with 9 percent growth at the deepsea Fos terminals and a 5 percent increase the Marseille facility. Volumes were boosted by a record month for Marseille Fos in March, when the port handled almost 116,000 TEUs, a 15 percent increase from March 2014.
   The port’s liquid bulks sector increased throughput 12 percent to 12.27 million tons.  Crude oil and petroleum products were up 13 percent as crude imports jumped 28 percent to 7.22 million tons. LPG volumes grew gained 21 percent to 0.73 million tons, but LNG fell 24 percent to 0.75 million tons and refined products were also down 5 percent.  Liquid chemicals and agro-products were down 3 percent to 0.86 million tons due to lower imports of biofuels and MTBE.
   Throughput of dry bulk products decreased 4 percent to 3.43 million tons compared to a “particularly strong first quarter in 2014,” the port said in a statement.
   Passenger throughput was down 4 percent to 308,000 due to an unusual drop in cruise numbers, down 11 percent to 178,000. According to Marseille Fos, however, “this reflected a market-driven change in the schedule of port calls, which now focuses on the summer season, and the deficit is set to be wiped out over the full year.”