Freight volumes unchanged

The economy may well have taken a turn for the worse in 2008 but CMP still managed to maintain a total freight volume of 18 million tons – only a single percentage point lower than 2007. Turnover of dry bulk and cars did however fall by 10-20%.

The annual cruise ship season preceded the financial crisis. The number of calls rose to 301 and passenger numbers increased by no less than 10% to 560,000. Copenhagen was voted Europe's leading cruise ship destination for the fifth time.

The number of trailers carried on ferry routes – an area of business in which traffic to Germany makes up a large proportion of the ro-ro turnover – rose by 7% in 2008. Container volumes rose by 1% during a year in which other ports reported heavy falls. The shipping company MSC opened a direct Antwerp-Copenhagen route late in the year.

Alerted by falling car sales, CMP had already noted a reduction in its turnover of automobiles as early as late 2007. This trend picked up pace in 2008 and the number of new cars processed by the port fell by almost one-fifth, down to a total of 427,000.

Bulk processing, much of which consists of building materials, fell by 11% as a result of contraction in the construction industry. The fact that a major building project in Malmö, the City Tunnel, is approaching completion also contributed to the fall.

We ought to be very satisfied and grateful that we came out of 2008 as well as we did. So far, our volumes have fallen less sharply than other Nordic ports, which probably reflects the fact that our immediate hinterland, the Øresund Region, is home to large numbers of consumers with money to spend, and not to a massive concentration of industrial activity, says the Managing Director of CMP, Lars Karlsson, who expects similar volumes in 2009.

CMP has yet to complete annual accounts for 2008, but expects to improve on 2007, which had been its best year to date.

Source: American Shipper