Container turnover in Rotterdam, which is the largest European container port and which transports about a third of all containers transshipped through northern European hubs decreased by 1.4% to 3.6 million TEU in the first quarter of 2022.
The Port Authority's report attributes this decline in container turnover primarily to a container transit transhipment slump due to congestion and disruptions in logistics chains. In addition, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, which began at the end of February, has already affected the first quarter performance. The Port Authority estimates the share of trade with Russia in the structure of Rotterdam's container turnover at about 10%.
Container turnover of the Antwerp Port, which ranks second in the ranking of the largest European container ports, decreased by 11.6% to 2.73 mln TEU containers in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.
This decrease is attributed to continued disruptions in container logistics chains, delays and increased import calls, as well as the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and sanctions. In 2021, Russia was the port's fifth largest trading partner: trading volumes with Russia amounted to 11.6 million tons, of which 5.3 million tons were containers.