The port of Antwerp announced that it has achieved a record freight volume for the fifth straight year in a row. In 2017 the port handled 223,606,610 tonnes of freight, an increase of 4.4% compared with the previous year.
Namely, the container volume expanded in tonnage by 4.3%, liquid bulk such as oil derivatives by 5.7% (73.1 million tonnes), and conventional breakbulk such as steel by 4.8% (10.3 million tonnes), while ro-ro completed the growth list with 10.5% (5.1 million tonnes). Only dry bulk such as coal and ores lagged behind in the tables, finished the year with a drop of 3.7% (12.2 million tonnes).
The container volume rose in 2017 by 4.3% in tonnage (to 122,969,409 tonnes) and by 4.1% in terms of the number of standard containers (to 10,450,897 TEU, or twenty-foot equivalent units). As far as trading routes are concerned the most progress was made by North America, Latin America and the Far East. In contrast in Europe, the port lost volume, due partly to the loss of imports for transhipment.
The ro-ro volume rose sharply in 2017, up 10.5%. The number of cars handled for its part was up by 4.0% to 1,238,128 units. Conventional breakbulk also made significant progress in comparison with the previous year. There was particular growth in imports of raw iron and steel from India and from countries such as South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and Turkey.
The volume of liquid bulk topped out in 2017 with growth of 5.7%, to 73,134,912 tonnes. The rise in the total volume of liquid bulk was driven by an increase in the amount of crude oil handled, up by no less than 49.9%.
Finally, the dry bulk volume decreased last year by 3.7%, down to 12,176,518 tonnes. On the other hand the amount of fertilisers handled increased by 3.7%.