The Port of Helsinki has recorded high levels of cargo traffic, during the first nine months of the year, mainly driven by exports, with containers being the only sector marking a slight decrease.
In particular, from January through September, container throughput alone was a little over 1% down from the corresponding period of last year due to the global demand which is currently higher than the supply available, resulting in harsh price increases in the container cargoes.
However, the amount of unitised cargo transported on lorries and trailers surpassed last year’s numbers by almost 15%, while the total general unitised cargo traffic which includes containers, lorries and trailers amounted to 9 million tonnes, completing a year on year increase of 9.3%.
Overall, a total of 10.6 million tonnes of cargo was transported through the Finnish port, remarking a growth of almost 8%.
“If this excellent rate continues, we will be close to breaking records by the end of the year,” claimed Jukka Kallio, who is in charge of cargo business at the Port of Helsinki Ltd.
Regarding the international cargo traffic, imports rose by 4.4% during the first nine months of the year, accounting for 4.8 million tonnes.
In the meantime, exports completed 5.7 million tonnes which translates to an increase of more than 11% over the first nine months of 2020. The demand for Finnish forestry products is extremely high out in the world, according to the European port.
“Τhe impact of the pandemic on travel is still having a strongly negative effect on Port of Helsinki Ltd’s financial situation,” explained the port authority. The company’s turnover during January–September was US$56.8 million (€49 million), which corresponds to a decline of 7% compared to the same period of the previous year.
The Finnish port estimates that the overall turnover for 2021 will be US$78.6 million (€67.8 million) and the results will probably be negative for the second year in a row.
