The total cargo throughput of Port of Antwerp-Bruges amounted to 70.4 million tonnes in the first quarter of this year, a rise of 2.4% compared to the same period last year. In an ongoing complex geopolitical and macroeconomic context, this performance, driven by a return to growth in container throughput, underscores the port’s resilience, the Belgian port stated.

After economic uncertainty and inflation led to a global slowdown in demand for container shipping in 2023, container throughput picked up again from February, with March even witnessing the best monthly throughput since March 2021. This resulted in a rise in total container throughput of 8.6% in tonnes and 6% in TEUs (3,287,000 TEUs), compared to the first quarter of 2023. Port of Antwerp-Bruges’ market share in container handling in the Hamburg – Le Havre Range grew by 0.3 percentage points in 2023, to 29.9%.

Throughput volumes of conventional general cargo also showed an upward trend again. Although throughput decreased by 7.8% compared to the same period last year, it grew by 6.9% compared to the last quarter of 2023. ​ Throughput of iron and steel remained unchanged, with incoming flows growing (+1.4%) and outgoing flows falling (-3.8%). Most other goods recorded a decline compared to the first quarter of 2023.

(Port of Antwerp photo)