Total throughput in the port of Rotterdam fell slightly by 2.6% in the third quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year.
In the first nine months of this year, throughput was 320.2 million tonnes, compared to 328.9 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2024.
The decline is mainly due to lower throughput of iron ore and mineral oil products. The throughput of agribulk, crude oil, LNG, and containers increased.
Boudewijn Siemons, CEO of Port of Rotterdam Authority, commented that, though total throughput volumes showed a slight decline in the first nine months of this year, developments in areas such as container throughput and the throughput of renewable fuels confirm the resilience and strategic value of the port of Rotterdam. At the same time, European industry is still under enormous pressure, which underscores the need to continue investing jointly in innovation, sustainability, and logistical efficiency.
Throughput in the container segment increased by 3.0% to 10.7 million TEU in the first nine months.
In terms of tonnage, throughput shows a decrease of 0.6% compared to the same period last year. The slight decrease in tonnage is due to the imbalance between imports and exports, resulting in more empty containers being transshipped.
Exports from Europe are still suffering from the pressure on European competitiveness. This is particularly noticeable in the automotive industry and the chemical sector.
Due to strong import demand, particularly from Asia, the last three months of 2025 show an increase in container throughput in TEUs of 3.8% compared to 3.0% for the year to date.
Total throughput in the Asia–Europe shipping region increased by 8.8% in the last nine months.
Throughput on the transatlantic route increased by 14.6% in the first nine months compared to last year. The new sailing schedules introduced at the beginning of this year include more services from Rotterdam to this shipping region.
Total breakbulk throughput increased by 0.2% to 24.0 million tonnes. RoRo throughput decreased by 0.1%. Volumes to and from the United Kingdom have not yet recovered. The last six months have shown cautious signs of recovery. Other breakbulk rose 1.1% to 4.6 million tonnes.
This increase was partly due to the delivery of monopiles, steel pipes for the Porthos project, and an increase in the throughput of steel plates for the offshore industry.
