PORT OF ANTWERP’s FIRST-QUARTER CARGO INCREASES 9.3%

PORT OF ANTWERPÆS FIRST-QUARTER CARGO INCREASES 9.3%    The port of Antwerp's first-quarter cargo volume rose 9.3 percent to 34.46 million tons, according to the Antwerp Port Authority.
   Imports increased 9.9 percent and exports 8.5 percent.
   Containerized cargo totaled 14.45 million tons, up 14.2 percent from the first quarter of 2002. TEU volume improved 12.9 percent.
   Conventional general cargo fell 3.1 percent to 3.44 million tons, largely due to an 18.2-percent decline in forest products. 'Given the labor-intensive nature of the activity, this is a worrying development that will have to be watched closely,” the port authority said in a statement.
   “The continuing loss of freight to competing ports is due to their greater flexibility of labor and the availability of more modern handling equipment and facilities there,” the port noted.
   A good beet harvest led to sugar exports increasing 61.4 percent. Steel exports rose 5.5 percent while imports fell 17.3 percent, reflecting a decline in demand for steel in western Europe, the port said.