Amsterdam Port sees H1 box throughput rise 19.4pc

The port of Amsterdam and its subsidiary ports collectively handled 47.6 million tonnes of cargo in the first half of 2008, an increase of 6.6 per cent over the same period last year.

Within this total, first half exports were up 21 per cent at 14.3 million tonnes, while imports grew by 1.4 per cent to 33.3 million tonnes.

Container volume during the reporting period rose by 19.4 per cent to 209,928 TEU due mainly to the Grand Alliance adding a third Amsterdam call to its Asia-Europe network from March. The addition of the EU5 service provides the Dutch port with an extra 5,500 TEUs per month, reports American Shipper.

Port authorities forecast that for full year 2008, Amsterdam will handle over 450,000 TEU.