The Port of Gothenburg, in line with the rest of Sweden, remains open despite the coronavirus pandemic. The most recent operating results are positive and show that freight volumes have remained high throughout the first quarter of the year, according to the Port of Gothenburg’s new freight volume report.
Sweden is highly dependent on the rest of the world and despite trade volumes remaining firm during the first quarter, a slowdown is expected during the second quarter as a result of the situation globally, according to the port authority.
“Large parts of Sweden have remained open and productive during the pandemic, and coronavirus has not had any tangible impact on Q1 volumes,” commented Elvir Dzanic, Gothenburg Port Authority chief executive.
In the container sector, volumes actually increased by 8% on the export side and even reached 10% in March – one of the highest monthly figures in recent years. On the import side, a downturn has been noted as a result of a fall in imports from China. This has been compensated for in part by a rise in the import of empty containers needed to avert a shortage for the country’s export companies.
There was no significant decline in the number of vehicles shipped, with just a 1% fall for the quarter.
Handling of energy products increased by 13% to 5.7 million tonnes for January-March. Whilst there was no increase in the demand for storage through to March, although this is expected to change in the near future.
“We are in the process of deepening the fairways to ensure the larger vessels of the future can enter the port. We are developing land areas in anticipation of continued growth, and a major digitalisation project is about to commence,” said Elvir Dzanic.
