[ ’95 NEW BUMPER YEAR FOR ROTTERDAM ]

The port of Rotterdam achieved a better throughput result in 1995 than
in its bumper year 1994. This year throughput totalled 294.6 million
tonnes, 0.7 million tonnes or 0.2% more than last year. The throughput
of roll on/roll off traffic rose by 1.3% to 8.2 million tonnes. This
growth is virtually entirely due to higher imports, particularly from
the United Kingdom. Exports, mainly German cargo destined for the Brit
ish Isles, stabilized at the level of 1994.
Throughput of ore and scrap metal totalled 47.3 million tonnes, an inc
rease of 2.9% in comparison with 1994. Imports (virtually entirely ore
) totalled 43.2 million tonnes, almost 2 million tonnes more than in 1
994 and second only to 1989 (then 44.3 min tonnes) as the best result
in the history of the port. Exports of mainly scrap metal considerably
improved in the last three quarters. But due to the low scrap metal p
rices at the beginning of 1995, exports were down by almost half in th
e first quarter. As a result of the subsequent upturn, the decline in
1995 as a whole was limited to 0.4 million tonnes, bringing exports to
4.1 million tonnes.
Throughput of other dry bulk cargo (including minerals, fertilisers, s
and and gravel) rose by 15.4% to 9.9 million tonnes. This category has
been steadily growing since mid-1994, mainly due to increased activit
y in the building and steel industries. Other liquid bulk cargo -princ
ipally bulk chemicals - increased by 5.4% to 20 million tonnes. The tu
rnover of the European chemical industry substantially increased in 19
95, although the growth in production fell in the fourth quarter. Desp
ite a slightly weakening demand at the present time, 1995 was an excel
lent year for the chemical sector and chemical production is also expe
cted to remain at a high level in 1996.