Belgium: Antwerp Port Handles 183.8 Million Tonnes of Freight in 2012

The port of Antwerp is expected to have handled 183.8 million tonnes of freight this year. This represents a drop of 1.8% compared with 2011, when the volume was 187.2 million tonnes.

All things considered, these figures are a mild reflection of the state of the economy and of the shipping industry. Antwerp’s performance was also impacted this year by the temporary shutdown of Belgian Refining Corporation (BRC), which depressed the growth figures for liquid bulk.

The number of seagoing ships calling at the port this year amounts to 14,593, a decrease of 4.2% compared with 2011. On the other hand the number of calls by ships of 10,000 TEU or more was up: from 141 in 2011 to an expected 165 this year, demonstrating that the port of Antwerp is very definitely reaping the benefits of the deepening of the Scheldt.

The number of jobs worked by the dockers came to 1,460,469 during the first 11 months of the year. This represents an increase of 0.8% compared with the same period last year.

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Press Release, December 28, 2012