In the first nine months of 2016 the container throughput of the port of Rotterdam decreased by 0.4% in TEU, and 1.2% in weight as compared to the same period last year, says the port’s press release. All in all, 9.3 million TEU was handled in the port, or 94.8 million tonnes. While the port saw a lower container throughput than last year in the first five months of 2016, it was able to record higher volumes from June on. This positive trend is expected to continue in the final quarter, thanks among other things to the sailing schedules adopted by the new shipping alliances – which are favourable for Rotterdam – and the further development of the terminals at Maasvlakte 2. The suspension of payments by the shipping company Hanjin led to an estimated loss of 30,000 TEU for the port of Rotterdam. Other shipping lines are expected to take over the clients formerly served by Hanjin, meaning that this is a temporary effect.

Overall cargo throughput of the port fell by 1.9%, whereas in the first three quarters of 2015 it grew by 5.4%. The decrease was particularly strong in coal and iron ore. Allard Castelein, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority commented this situation: “Each of the different sectors in the port has its own dynamic. The 1.9% decrease is consequently the sum of a number of different developments. In 2016 as a whole, we hope to get near the total throughput achieved in the record year 2015.” The port’s throughput last year increased by 4.9%, to 466 million tonnes.