zoomImage Courtesy: Port of Rotterdam

The Dutch Port of Rotterdam witnessed an increase of 3.9% in throughput during the first six months of 2017, mainly driven by the container segment.

The volume of containers handled increased by 9.3% in TEU terms and by 10.4% in tonnes, thereby making it the determining factor for the overall growth in throughput.

Eight out of ten market segments at the port witnessed an increase in volumes, while the only falls were recorded in the volumes of mineral oil products and other liquid bulk.

As dry bulk volumes rose by 5.2%, liquid bulk saw a slight decrease of 1%. Additionally, the port’s break bulk volumes flourished with an increase of 10.8%.

A total of 238 million tonnes of goods were handled in the first half of the year.

The market share of Rotterdam by comparison with the other ports in the Hamburg-Le Havre range increased from 29% reported in the first quarter of 2016 to 30.9% in the corresponding period of 2017 in the container sector.

Sea port dues decreased by 0.4% (EUR 0.6 million) to EUR 146 million, while throughput increased by 3.9% because of a fall in some market segments of the average price per tonne due to the prevailing price structure.