In 2015 for the first time in its history the port of[ds_preview] Antwerp passed the 200mill. t mark for the volume of freight handled. On 31 December the figure stood at 208.4mill t, 4.7% more than the previous year, which ended with a volume of 199mill. t, the port authority stated. Another million-tonne record was broken in the container handling sector, with a volume of more than 9.6mill. TEU. In comparison with 2014, 7.5% more containers were handled. In tonnage the growth was 4.6%, resulting in 113.3mill. t. Container volume grew strongly in particular from Asia.
Rotterdam also reported a 4.9% increase to 466.4mill. t, mainly due to a significant rise in oil (+8.1%) and oil derivatives. The small LNG segment went up 91.3% to 2.3mill. t, with gas prices falling in Middle East. However, container volumes in Rotterdam went down slightly 0.5% to 12.2mill. t. Volumes going to Asia increased by 2%, also container (and roro) traffic to the UK rose due to the strong British economy. Drybulk was down 1% due to decreased volumes in iron and scrap and a 3.8% decrease in agribulk.
