The Amsterdam Port Area (comprising the Ports of Velsen/IJmuiden, Beverwijk, Zaanstad and Amsterdam) achieved strong growth in 2008, as the final figures show. The cargo throughput jumped by a remarkable 8.2% from 87.8 million to 94.8 million metric tons. Thanks to this impressive showing, the Amsterdam Port Area has now further strengthened its position in Europe. Within this region, the Port of Amsterdam remained the flagship port; the volume of cargo handled by the Port of Amsterdam shot up by 11.6% from 67.9 million to 75.8 million metric tons.

At the New Year’s Reception of the Port of Amsterdam on January 8, CEO Hans Gerson released the preliminary numbers for the whole port region and Amsterdam. But now that he knows the final figures, Hans Gerson is even more upbeat, “At that time, we didn’t yet know the definitive figures for November and December. It now turns out that we did particularly well in these two months. This is a pleasant surprise. Both the Amsterdam Port Area and the Port of Amsterdam achieved the strongest growth in Europe in 2008. Over the past three years, the port activities in the Port of Amsterdam have expanded by well over 32%.“

Port of Velsen/IJmuiden

The transshipment in the Port Velsen/IJmuiden fell by 3.9% from 19.0 million to 18.3 million tons. This is largely down to the worldwide economic slump and its impact on steelmaker Corus.

Port of Beverwijk

The Port of Beverwijk saw its cargo throughput grow by 6.4% from 541,000 in 2007 to 576,000 tons in 2008. The rise can be mainly attributed to imports of scrap metal for steelmaker Corus. The volume of scrap metal brought in rose by an impressive 41.3% from 98,000 to 139,000 tons. Furthermore, Beverwijk remained Europe’s largest potato port, with exports going up from 70,000 in 2007 to 75,000 tons in 2008.

Port of Zaanstad

The cargo throughput in the Port of Zaanstad dropped by 2.9% from 165,000 tons in 2007 to 160,000 tons in 2008. The cause: the volume of imported grains dropped by 100% from 21,000 to 0 tons. On the plus side, the amount of general cargo jumped by 11.6% from 143,000 to 160,000 tons.
Port of Amsterdam.
Port activities in the Port of Amsterdam expanded by a staggering 11.6% from 67.9 million in 2007 to 75.8 million tons in 2008. Among the main contributors was liquid bulk, which increased by 26.6% from 26.6 million to 33.6 million tons. The transshipment of dry bulk dropped slightly, decreasing by 0.3%. from 35.3 million to 35.2 million tons. Mixed cargo went up by 15.3% from 6.0 million to 7.0 million tons.

Expectations for 2009

It is not yet clear how the recession will affect the various sectors of the port. But the general expectation is that the Port of Amsterdam will weather the economic storm fairly unscathed. That optimistic forecast is based on recent investments in terminal capacity, particularly in the energy sector; as well as the broad spectrum of goods passing through Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Alderman Freek Ossel, responsible for port affairs, is delighted with the impressive showing made by the Port, “Our new Port Vision envisages a port growing by an annual 5% in the coming 12 years and doing so in a sustainable fashion within the existing port area. Of course, Amsterdam might also experience leaner years, but our ambitions for the port are being borne out by the developments in the market. The expansion now seen fits in with the Global Economy Scenario, which underpins the Port Vision and the studies carried out by the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Analysis. From a regional and national economic perspective, the urgent need for a second large sea lock in IJmuiden is making itself felt evermore acutely.”

Amsterdam Alderman Freek Ossel, responsible for port affairs, is delighted with the impressive showing made by the Port, “Our new Port Vision envisages a port growing by an annual 5% in the coming 12 years and doing so in a sustainable fashion within the existing port area. Of course, Amsterdam might also experience leaner years, but our ambitions for the port are being borne out by the developments in the market. The expansion now seen fits in with the Global Economy Scenario, which underpins the Port Vision and the studies carried out by the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Analysis. From a regional and national economic perspective, the urgent need for a second large sea lock in IJmuiden is making itself felt evermore acutely.”

Appendix to transshipment figures for the Port of van Amsterdam itself