The Port of Rotterdam has recorded a total container throughput of 7,612,000TEU during the first half of the year, which translates to an 8.7% growth in comparison to the same period of 2020.
More specifically, imports had a year-on-year increase of 9.2% with more than 3.9 million TEU to be handled, while exports rose by 8.1%, totalling more than 3.6 million TEU in 2021 H1.
“Never before have so many containers been shipped via Rotterdam within a half-year,” highlighted the largest container port in Europe.
Although the container throughput increased more than 8.7% in TEU, it rose by 4.4% in tonnes due to the fact that more empty containers were handled, while there has been a downward trend in the average weight of full containers.
In the meantime, the total throughput for the biggest port of Europe during the first six months of 2021 was 231.6 million tonnes, a rise of 5.8% compared with the same period last year.
“That’s not enough to compensate for last year’s corona dip,” noted CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, Allard Castelein. However, he said that “It is encouraging to see that the total throughput volume is increasing quarter on quarter. The Port Authority’s financial results were satisfactory.”
Meanwhile, in the last half-year, the 100th company was also connected to Routescanner, a platform that provides a worldwide picture of container transport routes on the basis of data from container operators.