Klaipėda port regains leader position

Klaipėda port (Lithuania) is gradually regaining its leader position among the ports of the Baltic States. The first quarter of this year allows for optimistic forecasts: the port succeeded in maintaining high growth rates of cargo and passenger flows, thus record results in cargo handling are expected by the end of the year.

Klaipėda  outperformed the ports of Riga and Ventspils again – cargo handling results at Klaipėda port for the first quarter of this year were higher than those of Riga and Tallinn in terms of the share in the total turnover of all ports. Klaipėda is the second largest port among the ports of Eastern Baltic after Tallinn, although the gap between those two leading ports is only 972 thousand tons of cargo.

Klaipėda port maintains the highest rates of growth as compared with other ports of the Baltic States. In the first quarter of 2010, the growth in cargo turnover in Klaipėda amounted even to 15,9 %. Considering this important factor, Klaipėda has real chances to outperform the port of Tallinn during the remaining 9 months of current year.

In the first quarter of 2010 Klaipėda port handled 7 508,9 thous. tons of  cargo, i.e. even by  15,9 % more than in corresponding period of 2009. Increasing passenger flows is especially encouraging factor:  43,5 thousand passengers arrived/departed to/from the port in the above mentioned period, i.e. by 21,1 % more than in corresponding period last year.

Important indicator of economic recovery is the growth in handling figures for bulk/dry and general cargo: during the first three months of this year the increase amounted to 37,4 % and 29,4 %, correspondingly. Moreover, growing consumption results in larger cargo flows of containerised consumer goods, thus this year especially high growth rates in terms of container handling are expected at Klaipėda port.

(Source: Cargo News Asia)