Belgium’s port of Antwerp recorded a 3.3 percent cargo volume increase in the first nine months of this year, handling 161.6 million tons of freight, up from 156.5 million tons in the same period last year.
The container volume in the first three quarters stood at more than 7.5 million TEUs, representing an increase of 4 percent when compared to 7.26 million TEUs in the first nine months of 2015.
Ro-ro volume was down by 1.9 percent, finishing at 3.3 million after the first nine months.
“The number of cars handled experienced a slight dip during the month of September, so that the overall growth during the first six months went into reverse during the third quarter, falling by 2 percent to 894,475 units,” the port said.
Additionally, the volume of conventional breakbulk remained flat at 7.26 million tons, just 0.5 percent down.
The liquid bulk volume rose during the first nine months by 6.7 percent to 53.1 million tons. As for oil derivatives, the nine-month figure was almost 39 million tons, an increase of 10.3 percent. The volume of crude oil was slightly up by 1 percent and stood at 3.4 million tons.
Meanwhile, the port of Antwerp said that the volume of dry bulk continues to decline. After nine months of 2016, the figure stood at 9.3 million tons, representing a drop of 11.6 percent compared to the same period in 2015.
The port also said that the number of seagoing ships was up by 1 percent, with the number of ships amounting to 10,894 as of October 1, 2016.