Total throughput in the port of Rotterdam fell by 5.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year. The decline is mainly due to less throughput of crude oil and oil products, iron ore and coal.
In the first three months of this year, throughput was 103.7 million tonnes compared to 110.1 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2024. The throughput of agribulk, other dry bulk goods and containers increased. Import duties imposed by the United States on goods exported from Europe had yet to have an effect on first-quarter throughput.
Boudewijn Siemons, CEO of Port of Rotterdam Authority: ‘The first three months of this year were characterised by a high degree of volatility in world trade as a result of threatened import duties in the United States and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. This volatility has led to uncertainty among companies in the areas of trade and investment. We see this reflected in throughput volumes and the willingness to invest. In these uncertain times, it remains as important as ever that, together with national and European governments, the Port of Rotterdam continues to work towards a competitive European investment climate.’
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Dry bulk
The throughput of dry bulk fell by 8.6 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2024. The main reason for the decline is the sharp contraction in the throughput of iron ore and scrap by 28.1 per cent. Two million tonnes less iron ore were handled in the first three months due to a decline in demand for iron ore for steel production, caused by lower production levels in the steel industry.
Coal throughputs decreased by 17.3 per cent to 4.5 million tonnes, in line with the past few quarters, due to the ever-decreasing share of coal in power generation. The throughput of agribulk increased by 22.7 per cent, as did the throughput of other dry bulk by 44.1 per cent. This increase is mainly due to the commissioning of a new dry bulk terminal in Rotterdam.
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Liquid bulk
Liquid bulk throughput declined by 8.8 per cent to 48.0 million tonnes. This decline of 4.6 million tonnes was caused by less throughput of crude oil, mineral oil products and other liquid bulk. Lower refining margins in north-western Europe have resulted in less demand for crude oil from refineries. For this reason, the supply of crude oil decreased by 1.1 million to 24.7 million tons.
The demand for mineral oil products also decreased in the first quarter of this year by 20.1 per cent and 2.9 million tonnes. The margins for diesel and kerosene were higher in Asia, which meant that more was exported to Asia from the Middle East and India instead of Europe.
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Containers
In terms of TEU, container throughput increased by 2.2 per cent to 3.3 million TEU in the first quarter. In terms of tonnage, throughput shows a decrease of 1.1 per cent compared to the same period last year. This difference is caused by an 8.1 per cent decrease in the export of full containers. Export containers are heavier, which means that the average weight per container is lower.
The decrease in the number of export containers is a result of the weak market position of the European industry and a decrease in the number of transhipment containers that were transshipped in Rotterdam. Bad weather in January and operational disruptions at the HPD2 terminal led to fewer ship visits, delays, and lower productivity in the first quarter. The situation improved during the first quarter, and productivity in March was higher than in January and February.
Throughput on the transatlantic route fell by 23.1 per cent in the first quarter compared to last year because two services were moved to other ports due to limited capacity at the terminals in Rotterdam. Throughput from Asia increased by 8.4 per cent in the first quarter due to more consumer products being imported.
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Breakbulk
Total breakbulk throughput (Roll-on/Roll-off and other breakbulk) increased by 0.6 per cent to 7.8 million tonnes. RoRo throughput fell by 1.8 per cent to 6.2 million tonnes. RoRo cargo is suffering from strong competition from road transport due to low rates and low economic growth in the United Kingdom. Other general breakbulk rose by 11.2 per cent to 1.6 million tonnes. The increase was partly due to the throughput of tubular piles for the Porthos project.
Picture: Maasvlakte 2 with the conversionpark and Portlantis in the foreground (photo: Martens Multimedia).
