Port of Rotterdam posts increase in box volumes

The port experienced year-over-year increases in container, breakbulk and dry bulk tonnage for the first quarter of 2017, despite a drop in liquid bulk tonnage.    The Port of Rotterdam handled 119.3 million metric tons of cargo during the first quarter of 2017, rising 2 percent from the corresponding period a year prior, the port said Thursday.
   During the quarter, the port recorded year-over-year increases in container, breakbulk and dry bulk tonnage, while liquid bulk tonnage declined.
   Container tonnage rose 10.8 percent from the first quarter of 2016 to 34.3 million metric tons, while container volumes ticked up 8.8 percent to 3.3 million TEUs.
   “Activity at the new terminals on Maasvlakte 2 is improving all the time, and shipping companies have brought back to Rotterdam substantial quantities of transshipment cargo that had been moved elsewhere in late 2015 and early 2016,” the port said. Feeder volumes during the quarter skyrocketed 22.4 percent year-over-year to 5.9 million metric tons.
   Port of Rotterdam Authority CEO Allard Castelein said the new sailing schedules appear to be in the port’s favor.
   Since the alliance reshuffle, which began at the beginning of April, bringing the 2M Alliance, G6 Alliance, CKYHE Alliance and Ocean 3 Alliance down to just the 2M Alliance and the newly formed OCEAN Alliance and “THE” Alliance, it appears the Port of Rotterdam will now be called by 22 alliance services, according to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting’s Port Dashboard tool. Including these alliance services, the port is called by 50 fully cellular container services that connect it to ports outside of North Europe, in addition to dozens of intra-North Europe loops.
   In addition to a boost in containers, the Port of Rotterdam recorded a 3.6 percent year-over-year increase in dry bulk tonnage for the first quarter of 2017 to 21.7 million metric tons, as volumes of iron ore and scrap, the port’s main dry bulk commodities, posted modest increases.
   However, liquid bulk throughput fell 4.7 percent year-over-year during the quarter to 55.6 million metric tons. The boost in crude oil and liquefied natural gas was not enough to offset the declines in mineral oil products and other liquid bulk products.
   Meanwhile, break bulk throughput rose 14.5 percent from the first quarter of 2016 to 7.6 million metric tons. Roll-on/roll-off traffic increased, and general cargo surged thanks to additional handling of steel.