DP World saw a 5% rise in the box volumes of its two hubs in the United Kingdom last year, with London Gateway increasing its volumes by 14% to more than 2 million TEUs and Southampton reporting around 1.8 million TEUs.
This is the first time that London Gateway exceeded two million TEUs in a single year, consolidating its position as Britain’s second-biggest container terminal.
“Within a decade, London Gateway is likely to be handling up to 30% of the country’s containerised trade. Its port-centric logistics park will be one of the largest in Europe, employing 12,000 people and underpinned by investment in a second rail terminal and a new fourth berth,” commented Ernst Schulze, UK chief executive of DP World.
The box throughput of DP World’s UK terminals in 2022 was the largest in history, overcoming the previous record set in 2021 with 3.675 million TEUs. At the same time, the UAE-headquartered port and terminal operator achieved an overall slight growth in its container volumes worldwide in the last year.
DP World partnered with Economist Impact to launch the latest edition of Trade in Transition, a global trade barometer, last month. The research showed that companies in the UK experienced strong growth in 2022, with an expansion of up to 50% in the value of exports reported by 62% of those surveyed, while 53% reported a similar rise in the value of imports.