Antwerp Breakbulk Volume Up 1.2 Percent

During the first six months of 2010, the Port of Antwerp handled 86,859,099 metric tons of freight, an increase of 12.7 percent compared with the same period last year, when the volume was 77 million metric tons.

However, the volume of conventional/ breakbulk freight was up only slightly from last year, with 1.2 percent more being loaded and unloaded from January to June, compared with the same period in 2009. The total amount of such freight for the first six months of 2010 was 5.5 million metric tons, which was 43.6 percent less than in 2007, and 34.8 percent less than in 2008.

“Conventional/breakbulk remains an area of concern, as the decline cannot be explained entirely by the state of the economy,” the Antwerp Port Authority said in a statement.

The volume of steel products was slightly down, by 2.4 percent, to 2,978,504 metric tons. Volumes of fruit (675,061 metric tons) and paper (643,607 metric tons were up by 2.7 percent and 3.7 percent respectively.

The healthiest growth was in the ro/ro sector, where the port of Antwerp experienced an expansion of 13.4 percent, to 1.8 million metric tons. The volume of cars handled rose 29.3 percent, with 442,267 vehicles being loaded or unloaded during the first six months.

The number of seagoing ships calling at the port was up by 4.5 percent, to 7,214.