Labour Dispute Affects Gothenburg Port’s Box Volumes
Image Courtesy: Port of GothenburgAffected by a lengthy labour dispute with the Swedish Dockworkers’ Union, the container volumes at the Swedish Port of Gothenburg fell by 3 per cent to 798,000 TEU in 2016.
“The container terminal has had a challenging year with the labour dispute with the Dockworkers’ Union, which has escalated and resulted in major disruptions,” Magnus Kårestedt, Gothenburg Port Authority chief executive, said.
“This is highly unfortunate and it has affected the whole of Swedish industry. We are, however, working on the assumption that the parties will find solutions that will prove sustainable in the long term,” Kårestedt added.
Although the container volumes at the port decreased, the total freight volumes were up by almost three million tonnes in 2016 reaching 40.9 million tonnes, compared to 38.2 million tonnes handled in 2015.
The increase in total freight volumes at the port was driven by the rise in the number of cars shipped via the port, higher volumes at the Energy Port and a good rate of activity at the port’s ro-ro terminals, according to Kårestedt.
Car exports-imports increased by 15 per cent as the port handled 246,000 cars during the year, representing the highest figure recorded since the financial crisis of 2008.
A total of 23.7 million tonnes of oil and energy products were handled in 2016, up by 12 per cent on the year before and a new record high for the Port of Gothenburg, while the total of ro-ro units shipped during the year increased by 2 per cent to 538,000.
