Container volume at six major North European ports will increase 10.8 percent this year over 2009 despite a decline in the fourth quarter, according to the new Global Port Tracker: North Europe Trade Outlook newsletter.
North Europe Trade Outlook forecasts container volume for the full year at the six North European ports — Le Havre, Antwerp, Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Bremen/Bremerhaven and Hamburg — will increase to 36.8 million 20-foot equivalent units, of which 14.95 million TEUs are inbound, up 10.8 percent from 2009, and 15.75 million TEUs are outbound, up 11.3 percent from last year.
The newsletter predicts that following a 7 percent decline in the fourth quarter incoming trade volume will return to growth in 2011, with a 0.6 percent increase in the first quarter and a 7.7 percent increase in the second.
Outgoing volume is forecast to decline in the fourth quarter and the first quarter of 2011, with month to month decreases from October through January projected in the 2.5 percent range.
Northern European imports reached their peak in the third quarter, exceeding the highest quarter in 2008. The newsletter projects 2010 imports will increase by 12.1 percent from 2009. It forecasts a 7 percent increase in imports for 2011. Imports to the Mediterranean and Black Sea region are forecast to increase by 18.1 percent in 2010 over 2009. Exports from all of Europe for 2010 are predicted to rise by 10.2 percent over the previous year, mainly as a result of 41 percent growth in the Mediterranean and Black Sea region.
The Journal of Commerce Online
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