HAROPA Port, a port complex in France including the ports of Le Havre, Rouen and Paris, handled 3.1 million TEUs in 2022 achieving relatively steady volumes compared with 2021 numbers.
Additionally, HAROPA’s maritime throughput reached 85.1 million tonnes representing a slight year-on-year increase of 2%. HAROPA noted that 2022 was an “excellent year” for grains.
HAROPA said it is consolidating its position in an uncertain economic environment, while its market share has progressed despite the general downturn in container traffic at the Northern Range ports.
In the meantime, Liquid bulk ended the year up 5% (40.1Mt) buoyed by an expansion in crude oil traffic (+23% at 18.8Mt) thanks to the operation at full capacity of the two Seine Axis refineries despite the international context requiring changes in product sourcing.
Moreover, the dry bulk sector saw growth of 3% (at 14.2Mt), boosted by a grain trading year up by 12% (8.6Mt). According to HAROPA, the conflict in Ukraine generated not only additional demand but also demand from countries rarely served in recent years, especially in the second half of 2022.
Moreover, ro-ro traffic fell back by 11% with HAROPA reporting 265,000 vehicles in the previous year.
“In 2022, the global economy was impacted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, combined with the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and inflation, which has reached levels not seen for several decades. And despite this, for Harora Port, the year has been one of a change in scale and striking resistance to these headwinds in the context of strategic focuses approved by its supervisory board,” commented Cédric Virciglio, strategic planning director of HAROPA Port.
The French port complex noted that the ecological and energy transition of the port represents 16% of its investments in 2022 and will increase to 19% in 2023.