The number of container ships coming from China to the Port of Rotterdam shows a slight recovery, as coronavirus measures have started to ease, the Port’s CEO said Monday.
The COVID-19 outbreak, originated from China in the last day of 2019, has caused deaths of 3,825 people and a major disruption in global trade.
In this regard, COVID-19 had also significantly curbed traffic from China to the Port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest port.
A few weeks ago we estimated that the number of ships leaving ports in China had dropped by about 20%. This seems to have recovered somewhat, but we also see that ships carry less cargo than before,
…Allard Castelein, CEO of port of Rotterdam, told Dutch radio broadcaster BNR.
However, Castelein added, it is still too early to assess the total implications of the coronavirus outbreak on international trade.
Last month, the port said it expected the flow of goods from China to Rotterdam to decrease by about 2 million tonnes per month if the COVID-19 continued to disrupt international trade.
The port’s total throughput already flatlined at 469 million tonnes last year as slowing international trade halted many shipments from Asia in the last months of 2019, Reuters reported.
In the first half of 2019, the container market showed a good start at the port, as container throughput measured in tonnes grew by 2.5%.
Measured in TEUs, the standard unit for containers, the increase was 2.1% and the annual total was 14.8 million TEUs.
