Car exports-imports and energy products enjoyed a particularly successful year with rises of 15 and 12 per cent respectively. Container volumes were down three per cent. The freight figures for 2016 have just been released.
Last year, the volume of freight handled at the Port of Gothenburg rose by seven per cent to 40.9 million tonnes, compared to 38.2 million tonnes in 2015.
“The upturn can be attributed largely to the rise in the number of cars shipped via the port but also to higher volumes at the Energy Port and a good rate of activity at our ro-ro terminals,” said Magnus Kårestedt, Gothenburg Port Authority chief executive.
Good year for cars
The Port of Gothenburg is the largest automotive export point in Sweden. There are also substantial imports, including Mazda, Nissan and Renault. In 2016, 246,000 cars passed through the port – up 15 per cent on the year before and the highest figure recorded since the financial crisis of 2008. A significant factor in the surge in car movements is Volvo’s continued sales success abroad.
Container flows down
Some 90 per cent of Swedish foreign trade takes place by sea. In the case of trade with countries outside Europe, container vessels are the most common mode of transport. Some 798,000 containers were handled at the Port of Gothenburg in 2016, a year-on-year fall of three per cent.
Magnus Kårestedt explained: “The container terminal has had a challenging year with the labour dispute with the Dockworkers’ Union, which has escalated and resulted in major disruptions. This is highly unfortunate and it has affected the whole of Swedish industry. We are, however, working on the assumption that the parties will find solutions that will prove sustainable in the long term.”
Trailerised freight increases
Ro-ro freight* increased during the year. A total of 538,000 ro-ro units were shipped, up two per cent on 2015.
Energy products in full flow
Gothenburg has the largest open access energy port in the Nordic region and it handles half of Sweden’s crude oil imports. The Energy Port produces petrol, diesel, asphalt and a range of other products. The proportion of renewables is growing.
A total of 23.7 million tonnes of oil and energy products were handled in 2016, up 12 per cent on the year before and a new record high for the Port of Gothenburg.
“We have never handled volumes of this magnitude before. The difference compared to the previous year is largely the result of an increase in storage and distribution flows. We can also see a clear increase in biocomponents**, which are refined and mixed into the fuels,” said Magnus Kårestedt.
Fall in passenger traffic
The number of passengers passing through the Port of Gothenburg was down two per cent on 2016 at 1,708,000. There was also a fall in the number of calls by cruise ships – from 50 in 2015 to 34 last year. The trend now appears to have been reversed with 43 ships scheduled to call during the 2017 season.

The STAHL Divestment related to the European Commission’s approval of Konecranes’ acquisition of Terex Corporation’s MHPS business, which was conditional on Konecranes divesting its STAHL CraneSystems business.

The final selling price was EUR 224 million. Additionally, Columbus McKinnon assumed unfunded pension liabilities that were EUR 67 million as of December 31, 2016. Konecranes expects to book an after-tax capital gain of approximately EUR 200 million from the STAHL Divestment in the first quarter of 2017.

Konecranes will use the proceeds from the STAHL CraneSystems divestment to amortize the loans related to the MHPS Acquisition.

The VTS system is a critical component of the new Integrated Marine Operations Centre (IMOC), which would help manage the safe and efficient movement of approximately 6,000 vessel movements through the port each year.

“The fit-for-purpose VTS system integrates radar, radio, CCTV and scheduling information to oversee the increasing number of vessels through the port,” said CEO Roger Johnston.

Australian Maritime Systems Pty Ltd is a global specialist in marine navigation and one of the country’s leading provider of VTS systems. The $70.7 million IMOC project is being delivered by the Pilbara Ports Authority to support the long-term sustainability and safe development of the Port of Port Hedland, the world’s largest bulk export port. Installation and commissioning of the new VTS system is expected to commence once the construction of the IMOC is complete in late 2018.

….including its logo, web site, email domain and the use of the common name NSGIS in lieu of NSG. NorthSouth GIS LLC was so named in 2005 because of its origins in a collaboration between US and New Zealand owners. Since founding member, President and CEO, Daniel Elroi, acquired full US control of the company in 2014, the “South” aspect of the company name has receded in significance.

And while the company’s legal name remains the same, the company has decided to adopt the common name long used by its clients and colleagues, NSGIS, thus shortening URL and email addresses considerably. Daniel Elroi explains, “We reflected on how our long-time business partners, Esri, transformed from Environmental Systems Research Institute, first to ESRI, and finally to the Esri brand that its users had been using all along. By adopting the NSGIS name that our clients have always preferred, we are signaling our commitment to focus on our clients’ needs.”

NSGIS (NorthSouth GIS LLC) is a geospatial systems integrator based in Los Angeles. NSGIS specializes in integrating information management systems around their common location elements. We partner with leading GIS technology partners, Esri and Latitude Geographics, to deliver practical solutions to real world problems, focusing in particular on “cities within cities” such as ports and airports worldwide, and on local government clients in Southern California.