In the third quarter of this year, for the fourth period consecutive quarterly, container traffic in the port of Antwerp-Zeebrugge recorded a decline which led to the Belgian port system to mark in the first nine months of 2022 a decrease of -0,8% of the total traffic of the goods that is amounted to 217.4 million tonnes compared to 215.6 million tonnes in January-September 2021.

In the third quarter of 2022 alone, total traffic is Result stable at 70.2 million tons compared to 70.3 million in the same period last year. If the Volumes of liquid bulk and solid bulk traffic showed increases of +6.7% and +0.2% respectively going up to 20.8 million and 3.5 million tons, and growth is Rolling stock traffic also resulted with 5.2 million tons (+5.3%), the goods in container, on the other hand, are decreased of the -6,8% coming down to 36,2 million tons and in reduction are Conventional and bulk goods were also found with 3.2 million tons (-9.5%).

In the first nine months of 2022, containerized goods have totalled 110.3 million tons with a handling of containers that has been pairs to 10,2 million teu, with declines -8.8% and -5.0% respectively on the corresponding period of last year. Other types of loads are increasing, with rolling stock to 16,1 million tons (+8.2%), the goods conventional to 9,6 million tons (+9.7%), bulk liquid at 68,1 million tons (+13.3%, with a sustained increase of +66.5% of liquefied natural gas) and solid ones at 12,2 million tons (+12.5%, growth determined in particular from the increase in coal volumes). The traffic of new cars has increased of +8.5% thanks mainly to the significant increase in vehicle arrivals from China, while volumes of used cars and trucks decreased respectively -7.3% and -17.0%.

The Authority of the Belgian harbour system has attributed the Reduction of containerized trade to chain dysfunctions logistics and the effects of the conflict in Ukraine: still the containers - the body explained - do not circulate sufficiently to cause of congestion and this leads to a contraction of the traffic of full containers, while that of empty containers is growing. The Belgian authority considers that the dysfunctions of the chain Maritime container logistics will not be resolved before first quarter of next year.