Antwerp tops Hamburg as Europe's No 2 container port at 9.7 million TEU
ANTWERP has overtaken Hamburg as the No 2 container port in Europe after Antwerp's throughput rose by 7.9 per cent year on year to a record 9.7 million TEU in 2015.
Rival Hamburg's volume fell nine per cent compared with 2014 to 8.9 million TEU, slumping to its lowest level since 2010.
Rotterdam remains No 1, handling 12.2 million TEU in 2015 though its volume was down 0.5 per cent. Le Havre was up 0.4 per cent year on year to 2.6 million TEU.
Antwerp's success last year came largely at the expense of fellow Belgian port, Zeebrugge, where volumes fell 24 per cent to 1.6 million TEU, reversing two straight years of growth, reported Lloyd's Loading List.
Zeebrugge's volumes have been impacted by the reshuffling of service networks as part of the alliance regrouping among container shipping lines, with the formation of 2M resulting in its partners Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co removing it from rotations.
Antwerp was also not exposed to the collapse in Russian trade volumes as a result of sanctions that plagued its rivals. Hamburg was hit hardest, as trade with Russia fell 34.4 per cent against the previous year. Rotterdam, too, reported a drop in Russian trade.
ANTWERP has overtaken Hamburg as the No 2 container port in Europe after Antwerp's throughput rose by 7.9 per cent year on year to a record 9.7 million TEU in 2015.
Rival Hamburg's volume fell nine per cent compared with 2014 to 8.9 million TEU, slumping to its lowest level since 2010.
Rotterdam remains No 1, handling 12.2 million TEU in 2015 though its volume was down 0.5 per cent. Le Havre was up 0.4 per cent year on year to 2.6 million TEU.
Antwerp's success last year came largely at the expense of fellow Belgian port, Zeebrugge, where volumes fell 24 per cent to 1.6 million TEU, reversing two straight years of growth, reported Lloyd's Loading List.
Zeebrugge's volumes have been impacted by the reshuffling of service networks as part of the alliance regrouping among container shipping lines, with the formation of 2M resulting in its partners Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co removing it from rotations.
Antwerp was also not exposed to the collapse in Russian trade volumes as a result of sanctions that plagued its rivals. Hamburg was hit hardest, as trade with Russia fell 34.4 per cent against the previous year. Rotterdam, too, reported a drop in Russian trade.