After nine months, the total throughput of Port of Antwerp-Bruges was 204.4 million tonnes, a drop of 6% compared to the same period last year. The still unstable geopolitical and economic conditions are negatively impacting demand for container traffic around the world, while the picture is still mixed for other cargo flows. Thanks to the strong international position of our unified port, for which sustainable growth remains the priority, the market share of the container segment is growing compared to the other ports in the Hamburg - Le Havre range.
The Eurozone economy is under pressure from interest rates, which have risen sharply. Despite the drop in energy prices, the global economic situation also remains volatile and future indicators point to a continued economic downturn. As a result of this uncertain economic climate, containerised trade flows are falling around the world. For Port of Antwerp-Bruges, this is reflected in a 6.5% drop in container throughput in terms of tonnage, and 6.8% in TEUs, compared to the same period in 2022. Despite the decline in container throughput, Port of Antwerp-Bruges' market share in the Hamburg - Le Havre range nevertheless grew by 1% point, to 30.6% in the first half of this year.
Conventional breakbulk is holding up relatively well despite the weak economic climate, with throughput volumes in line with the pre-covid period. Compared to the same period in 2022, which was marked by a strong post-covid recovery, throughput is down 18.6%. Due to a drop in European steel production and lower demand, throughput of steel, the main commodity group within this segment, is down 17.6%.
Roll-on/roll-off traffic remains unchanged (0.9%). Throughput of transport equipment grew by 8.9% thanks to growth in the throughput of new cars (+12.6%) to 2.67 million units. In addition to transport equipment, 7 million tons of unaccompanied cargo (excluding containers) was shipped on RoRo vessels (-1.4%). The portion of this cargo related to Ireland grew by 18.5%, while traffic to and from the UK fell (-3.8%).
For more information: 
Port of Antwerp-Bruges
Tel.: +32 492 15 41 39
Email: [email protected]
portofantwerpbruges.com
