Marseilles Port sees box traffic rise 15pc in November

THE French Port of Marseilles handled 79,755 TEU in November, representing an increase of 15 per cent compared to same month last year.

In the first 11 months of 2010 the port saw its accumulative container throughput rise nine per cent year on year to 880,200 TEU.

However, the port is expected to miss its target of handling one million TEU this year because of a series of strikes in the late summer over government reforms, including the transfer of container crane operators from the port payroll to private stevedores, reports The Journal of Commerce.

It said that "many shippers who rerouted cargoes via Antwerp during the strike want to continue using the Belgian port," according to comments made by the development director of the port authority Dirk Becquart to the newspaper La Provence.

From January to November, total cargo traffic handled at the Port of Marseilles increased by three per cent to 78.3 million metric tons, setting the port on track to overtake last year's total of 83 million metric tons in spite of a 33-day strike at its oil import terminal.

General cargo volumes rose by nine per cent during the first 11 months of the year to 14.5 million metric tons, and dry bulk traffic grew by 42 per cent year on year to 10.6 million metric tons, on the back of higher imports for the steel industry, the report said.
(Source:www.schednet.com)