Box tonnage also rose 4% to 9.18 million tonnes, leading general cargo to 13.9MT (+3%). The main support came from ro-ro traffic – up 5% to 3.06MT – which included 130,616 import/export vehicles, a 6% increase boosted by a 17% surge in September. Liquid bulks finished the period 1% ahead on 36.8MT. Oil & gas volumes contributed 34.3MT, underpinned by crude imports of 19.6MT – each result echoing the one-point gain – but marked by LNG rising 31% to 4.1MT. Meanwhile liquid chemicals and agro-products ended 9% down on 2.5MT. The dry bulks sector, dominated by steel industry raw materials imports, fell 12% to 9.43MT due to China dumping cheap steel worldwide in the first half-year. Volumes were also hit by the conversion of the coal-fired Gardanne power station to biomass fuel. Passenger throughput rose 4% to 2.09 million, with cruise numbers up 8% to 1.189 million. Ferry carryings – down 8% in Q1 and 3% after six months – further closed the deficit to 1% on 903,000 passengers after a 19% increase in Algerian traffic and a return to normal on Corsica services.
Wednesday, December 25, 2024
