Amsterdam container volume declines 53pc in 2009

AMSTERDAM's container traffic declined 53 per cent to 200,000 TEU in 2009 from 425,000 TEU in 2008, a fall blamed mostly on a Grand Alliance decision to stop calls at the port because of falling demand and the introduction of bigger vessels that could no longer reach the harbour through its shallow locks.

But an increase in oil traffic offset much of loss as total cargo shrunk only three per cent in 2009 year on year, which cushioned the blow provided by plunging container numbers.

Said port CEO Dertje Meijer: "Compared to other ports, we are still doing very well. Our market share is expected to increase to 8.2 per cent. This means that after Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg we are the fourth port of north west Europe, and I am proud of this."

The Grand Alliance is shuttering a third service this month which will effectively wipe out Amsterdam's container traffic, reports Newark's Journal of Commerce. The port, which aimed to break through 500,000 TEU in 2008, is now considering laying up the container terminal until 2015 when its locks can be dredged to accommodate larger ships.

The Amsterdam port's total transhipment volume for 2009 is expected to reach 86 million tons, a nine per cent decline compared to 2008, said a port statement.

In 2009 the total transhipment of wet bulk increased 16 per cent to 39 million tons. The transhipment of oil products increased by around 15 per cent to over 35 million tons, this as a result of capacity expansion and other investments at the oil terminals.

Over the past year the total transhipment of dry bulk dropped 13 per cent to 31 million tons. This includes the transhipment of agri products, which saw a 16 per cent decline to two million tons. Products like grain, oilseed and fertiliser all experienced a decline. The transhipment of coal also dropped 16 per cent to 14 million tons.

Source: www.schednet.com