In the last quarter of 2023, as well as in the five previous quarterly periods, the traffic of goods in the port of Rotterdam recorded a decrease of 108.9 million tonnes, down -6.4% compared to the quarter quarter of 2022. The reduction has been generated, as in the previous quarters, from the decline in both goods and unloading and those at embarkation, which amounted to 77.0 million respectively tonnes (-6.3%) and 31.9 million tonnes (-6.6%).

In the period October-December last year, the total containerised cargo was 32.0 million tonnes (-2.6%), traffic that was with a container handling of more than 3.2 million TEUs (-6.1%), including 1.7 million TEUs at landing (-3.9%) and 1.6 million TEUs at embarkation (-8.6%). Other goods miscellaneous amounted to 7.5 million tonnes (-11.1%), of which 6.0 million tonnes of rolling stock (-8.7%) and 1.5 million tonnes of tonnes of other cargo (-19.5%). In the bulk sector 18.0 million tonnes were handled (-11.3%), with increases in the volumes of agricultural bulk and minerals, and scrap, which rose to 2.2 million tonnes (+5.3%) and 8.1 million tonnes. tonnes (+18.4%), not enough to compensate for the significant declines of coal and other dry bulk cargo, down to 5.0 million tonnes (-30.7%) and 2.6 million tonnes (-35.2%). In Liquid bulk cargo also decreased with a total of 51.5 million tonnes (-6.1%), of which 25.8 million tonnes of oil crude oil (0%), 14.3 million tonnes of petroleum products refined (-14.8%), 3.3 million tonnes of natural gas liquefied (+13.8%) and 8.1 million tonnes of other cargoes liquids (-13.5%).

In the whole of 2023, the Dutch port of call has moved 438.8 million tonnes of goods, with a contraction of -6.1% compared to the previous year. Containerized goods amounted to 130.2 million tonnes (-6.8%), with a container handling totalling 13.4 million TEUs (-7.0%), declines due to both the decline in consumption and production in Europe and the suspension of traffic to and from Russia after the the start of the war in Ukraine. In addition, in the goods sector miscellaneous, 25.9 million tons of rolling stock were handled and 6.5 million tonnes of other cargo, with decreases in -5.0% and -15.1% respectively as a consequence of the weakening of the UK economy and the slowdown in consumption and, for the break-bulk segment, the decline in the value of freight rates in the container industry. Dry bulk traffic is decreased by -11.8% to 70.6 million tonnes, including 28.1 million tonnes million tonnes of minerals and scrap, with a growth of +9.9% mainly due to the recovery in imports after the decline in 2022 due to low steel production, 23.1 million tonnes of coal, with a reduction of -20.3% which is This is mainly a consequence of the strong demand during 2022 caused by concerns about energy security and sharp increase in the price of gas, 10.6 million tonnes of agricultural products (+31.3%) and 8.8 million tonnes of other dry bulk (-49.4%). Liquid bulk cargo with 205.6 million tonnes (-6.8%), of which 102.5 million tonnes tonnes of crude oil (-1.4%), 55.1 million tonnes of petroleum products (-6.5%), 11.9 million tonnes of gas liquefied natural acid, with an increase of +3.7% generated by imports of natural gas into Europe to replace the Russian pipeline gas imports, and 36.1 million tonnes of other liquid bulk (-5.9%).