At 469 million tonnes, the port of Rotterdam’s total throughput volume ended up slightly higher in 2018 than in 2017, which was itself a record year (467.4 million tonnes). Container transhipment was the engine of growth again, with a 4.5% increase in tonnage. Measured in TEUs, the increase was 5.7% and the annual total was 14.5 million TEUs – also a record. This strengthens the position of Europe’s largest container port in this strategically important market segment.
Container transhipment saw a further strong increase in 2018, as a result of which market share was gained in the Hamburg-Le Havre range. A key factor in the increase in 2018 was the growth in numbers of transhipment and full import containers. Container exports developed less strongly, partly due to Chinese import restrictions on waste flows. The shortsea segment suffered from slowdowns in the British and Russian economies.
In RoRo transhipment too, which ended the year slightly up, the British RoRo trade showed less growth, probably due to the effects of Brexit uncertainty on the British economy. The transhipment of other breakbulk cargo was around the same as the volume in 2017.
For the Port of Rotterdam, 2018 was marked by a high level of investment. Gross investments rose 91% to EUR 408.1 million (2017: EUR 213.8 million), the highest amount since the construction of Maasvlakte 2. By far the largest part of this amount was used to further improve the logistical accessibility of the port of Rotterdam, for example by constructing the Container Exchange Route on the Maasvlakte.
The Port of Rotterdam Authority recorded turnover of EUR 707.2 million in 2018 (2017: EUR 712.1 million). The Port Authority expects throughput volume to increase slightly in 2019, with container sector growth being lower than the exceptional levels seen in previous years.
