In the first quarter of 2012, throughput in the port of Rotterdam was 3% up on the same period of last year, at 110 million tonnes. Broken down into types of cargo, incoming and outgoing trade in agribulk (-15%), iron ore and scrap (-14%), other dry bulk (-19%) and other general cargo (-19%) fell. On the positive side, coal (+15%), crude oil (+6%), mineral oil products (+13%), other liquid bulk (+8%) and containers (+1%) were all up. Imports of LNG and the handling of roll on/roll off cargo were stable.Port of Rotterdam Authority CEO Hans Smits: ‘The results are better than we expected at the end of last year, even if I subtract the percentage growth we owe to the leap day. According to the prognosis at the end of 2011, there would be a slight fall in the first half of 2012, followed by recovery in the second half, with a stable or slightly increased end result. From this perspective, we ‘laid on some fat’ in the first quarter. Whether or not we’ll need to draw on these reserves depends on the German and Dutch economies. The former continues to develop positively, while the latter still gives little reason for optimism. Exports to countries outside the EU, the majority of which travel via Rotterdam, provide a ray of hope.’
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