In their first-quarter reporting, Port of Antwerp says that the fluctuation of world trade since mid-2019 continues to weigh on their breakbulk volume. This has resulted in a total decline of 27.8%, with imports being hit harder than exports.
The volume of iron and steel, the most important category in this segment, continued its negative trend with a contraction of 36.8%. The shutdown in the car trade inflicted a double blow on the breakbulk volume, with reduced steel imports on the one hand and an 18% drop in the number of new cars on the other. The total ro/ro volume was down by 20.3%.
The total freight volume handled by Port of Antwerp rose by 4.0% in the first quarter compared with the same period last year. The container volume in particular made up for the decline in other freight categories such as conventional breakbulk and vehicles. The impact of the corona crisis remained limited in the first three months of the year.
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