The decrease mainly concerned the handling of containers and breakbulk cargo (ro-ro and other general cargo). The handling of mineral oil products, crude oil, LNG, iron ore and scrap, agribulk and coal increased.
Allard Castelein, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, explains: "Especially in the container segment, we had to face a decline in volumes due to high inflation and a weakening economy. The results in the other segments mainly show growth and confirm that the dependence on Russian energy flows has been further reduced in line with the sanctions".
Liquid bulk
In the first quarter, liquid bulk volumes increased by 5.6% to 54.3 million tonnes. Within this market segment, the supply of crude oil increased by 0.8 million tonnes (+3.2% to 26.3 million tonnes). More crude oil was supplied from the United States, West Africa and the Middle East to replace Russian oil.
Containers
Container handling decreased by 11.5% in weight to 31.5 million tonnes and by 11.6% in volume to 3.2 million TEU (the standard unit of container). This decline had already started in 2022 due to the loss of volumes to and from Russia. As the war in Ukraine only began at the end of February, the impact on volumes handled in the first quarter of last year was still limited.
Dry bulk
The dry bulk segment showed a slight growth of 0.2% to 17.9 million tonnes in the first quarter. The main commodities in this segment are iron ore & scrap and coal. Both commodities showed an increase. Iron ore & scrap throughput increased by 10.1% to 6.2 million tonnes.
RoRo and other breakbulk
The total throughput of the breakbulk segment (roll-on/roll-off and other general cargo) decreased by 6.0% to 7.9 million tonnes. RoRo traffic decreased by 2.2% to 6.6 million tonnes compared to the first quarter of last year. This was due to lower demand from the UK as a result of a moderate economic development. Other breakbulk volumes fell by 20.9% to 1.4 million tonnes.
"For the rest of the year, we expect a limited decline in volumes due to the uncertainties caused by the current geopolitical situation and high inflation," concludes CEO Allard Castelein.
