Antwerp back to 2019 levels
The Belgian Port of Antwerp posted a throughput of 179.1 million t from January to September 2021. In comparison to the same period last year, the figures went up by 4.8% - and reached the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.
Container flows continue to grow, surging by 2.3% in tonnes (105.4 million t) and 2.8% in teu (more than 9.1 million t) after nine months, compared to 2020.
Conventional breakbulk witnessed a significant growth of 62.7%, primarily due to the uptick in the steel trade (+65.9%). September was the best month of the year for the conventional breakbulk segment and even the best month for ten years (since June 2011).
While ro-ro went up by 18.2%, the handling of commercial vehicles, wood and building materials also showed a notable improvement. Dry bulk throughput is up by 9.3%. On the other hand, there was a sharp decline in the handling of crude oil (-68.5%), while liquid bulk throughput increased by 2.2%. (sh)