Antwerp Port Traffic Third Quarter 2020
Third Quarter 2020 Traffic Data for Port of Antwerp
Port of Antwerp reports that after nine months in 2020, the total throughput of Port of Antwerp has decreased by 4.4% compared to 2019. Container traffic in particular has been growing since July 2020, offsetting decreases in other market sectors. Out of a total year to date throughput of 171.1 million tonnes in 2020, Antwerp handled 103 million tonnes, making this the most important sector in terms of total volume. The low-point for container traffic was in May and June 2020, but in September, throughput was in excess of 1m TEU for the first time since April. The main growth area was for Europe-Far East traffic, and at this point, TEU traffic levels are only -0.2% compared to the same period of 2019 (container tonnes are down by -1.0%).
Therefore most of the net decrease in volume has occured due to a -5.7% decrease in liquid bulks, mainly due to a sudden decrease in exports of oil products.
In the smaller sectors, the rates of decrease have been higher, e.g. RORO was down -15%, conventional breakbulk down by -23.5%, and dry bulk down by -15.5%