Port of Rotterdam Authority CEO Hans Smits: "Very healthy figures. Even  taking into account a correction for the unique trend in crude oil and iron ore, there are still good signs of growth. I am working on the basis of close on four percent, therefore on continuing demand from producers and consumers".

Dry bulk
The strong increase in incoming iron ore, to 10.4 million tonnes, is largely the result of  stockpiling, in view of a sharp increase in the price of ore as of April. The production capacity of the steel plants which use Rotterdam to supply them is fairly constant. More scrap was exported, close on 500,000 tonnes, thanks mainly to the Turkish steel industry, which is operating at full steam. As a result of last year’s poor harvest in Europe, imports of  agribulk increased to 2.3 million tonnes. The increase was curbed by strikes in Argentina and  the exhaustion of storage capacity at EBS at the end of 2007. Coal throughput, at 6,1 million tonnes, did not quite meet expectations. Considering the structural increase in demand, recovery is expected during the rest of the year. Other dry bulk (minerals, building materials, biomass) was down, due mainly to the loss of a consignment of kaolin. 

Liquid bulk   
Imports of  crude oil, up to 25.6 million tonnes, displayed strong growth because a jetty at the MOT was put out of action in the comparable quarter of 2007 and a great deal of refinery capacity, relatively speaking, was undergoing maintenance. After several quarters of strong growth, there was a slight fall in the quantity of mineral oil products handled, to 14.9 million tonnes. This market is heavily dependent on arbitration (international price differences minus costs, particularly transport costs) and therefore rather volatile. Other liquid bulk (basic chemical products, vegetable oils and fats, fruit juices), at 9 million tonnes, received a boost primarily from the incoming trade in bioethenol from Brazil and biodiesel (B99) from the United States.

General cargo
The 8% increase in the weight of containers handled, to 26.7 million tonnes, was greater than that in numbers: 6% from 2.5 to 2.7 million TEU (20-foot units). Intra-European transport remained constant, that with North America declined, influenced by the strong euro. Growth in trade with the Far East was above average, despite oppressive factors such as the bad weather in China. Roll on/roll off showed a slight increase, to 4.4 million tonnes. The British economy is cooling down and more cargo is being transported on ferries in containers rather than in trailers. The decline in the transshipment of  other general cargo, to 2.1 million tonnes, was largely the result of the loss of around 1 million tonnes per annum of LASH. Fruit handling on pallets dropped sharply, as a result of containerisation. Throughput figures for steel and paper/pulp are showing a positive trend.