Antwerp's container flows on track
After the first nine months of 2020, total cargo throughput in the Port of Antwerp decreased by 4.4% compared to 2019. Container handling maintained the status quo (-0.2% in teu) and has been picking up since July.
In September, throughput passed the threshold of 1 million teu again for the first time since April this year. In Q3/2020, growth occurred mainly in container traffic to the Far East and within Europe. Nevertheless, the decline in the break bulk segment, after a few better months in June and July, continued from August onwards.
Conventional throughput of fruit did grow, but these volumes are rather limited. Result: a 20.3% decrease in total break bulk throughput at the end of Q3/2020. In automotive, total throughput of new vehicles decreased by 30% and that of second-hand vehicles by 23.7% in Q3/2020 compared to the same period last year. (cd)