Rotterdam had record 2008 despite poor fourth quarter

 The Dutch Port of Rotterdam said it handled a record 420 million tons of cargo in 2008, 2.7 percent more than in 2007 despite a poor fourth quarter.

   Imports grew by almost 4 percent to 312 million tons, while exports fell by 0.5 percent to 108 million tons.

   The port said coke and ore shipments related to the steel industry were likely to be off sharply in 2009.

   In 2008, the general cargo sector had a very lean year with barely one percent growth to 133 million tons,?the port said.

   Rotterdam handled about 10.83 million TEUs, compared 10.79 million TEUs in 2007. Containerized cargo weight was up 2.5 percent to 108 million tons.

   The English, Irish and Icelandic economies started declining early on, causing intra-European traffic to come under pressure. The increase in feeder traffic provided some compensation,?the port said the economic development had a stronger than expected effect on the traffic between Asia and Europe, which even decreased somewhat. In the meantime the capacity on this route has been significantly reduced to limit the losses for shipowners. Container transport with North and South America saw strong positive developments with approx. 9 percent growth.

   In 2008 the roll-on/roll-off sector suffered greatly from the downturn in the British economy, the fall in the value of the pound and the high fuel prices, the port said, and ro-ro volumes dropped about 1 percent to a little over 17 million tons.

   Bulk goods saw a small 4 percent increase, with liquid bulk volumes up about 3.5 percent to 194 million tons and dry bulk up about 4 percent to 94 million tons.

   Coal imports had been growing by about 6 percent until September when demand for energy stagnated and coal volumes at Rotterdam ended up being flat for the year. Coal exports were delayed due to the falling water level of the Rhine, the port said. As of October the demand for energy and coke dropped strongly, and the port forecast that in 2009 the throughput of coke for the steel industry might drop by a fifth.

   Likewise, the port said demand for and production of steel was at a very high level through September, but then the industry had a dairly sudden and quick downturn, particularly due to production restrictions in the car industry. 

Source: American Shipper