How did the port of Antwerp do in 2021? Despite disruptions in the global supply chain they say they performed strongly, matching their record year of 2019.
The total cargo throughput in 2021 was 240 million tonnes: a growth of 3.8% compared to 2020 and a slight growth in comparison with 2019.
Conventional general cargo grew by 74%. In 2021, the segment experienced the highest throughput of the past 10 years and achieved a throughput of more than 1 million tonnes during 7 months. The main reason for this is the strong throughput to steel (+81%), the most important commodity group within this segment. Compared to 2020, RoRo throughput grew by 13.9% in tonnes. The number of vehicles, both new and second-hand, also showed a growth compared to 2020 (+8%), but is still 15% below the level of 2019.
2022 promises to be an exciting year for the port considering their merger with Port of Zeebrugge. The integrated port will be known as port of Antwerp-Bruges.
An important milestone is the approval of the merger last week from the Belgian Competition Authority. In the coming months, all formal steps will be taken to finalise the merger. The official launch date of Port of Antwerp-Bruges is set for the end of April.
