The Port of Rotterdam, the largest container facility in Europe, increased its box throughput 13 percent after nine months of 2007 to 8.02 million TEUs.
Rotterdam's total traffic for all types of commodities rose 6.2 percent to 301 million tons. Liquid bulk cargo was up 5.6 percent to 139.1 million tons. General cargo, including containers and roll-on/roll-off traffic, rose 11.5 percent to 96.5 million tons. Dry bulk cargo improved 0.7 percent to 65.9 million tons.
"We'll be passing the 10 million-TEU mark this year, as the first non-Asian port to do so,?said Hans Smits, chief executive officer at the Port of Rotterdam Authority.
Combined with the boom in oil products, the 400 million mark for total throughput is also within reach. As far as I'm concerned, let the chase begin."
Source: American Shipper