Dry Bulk cargo passing through Dundalk Port falls by 31%

The quantity of ‘Dry Bulk’ cargo that passed through Dundalk Port in the first half of this year fell sharply by 31% when compared to the first half of last year according to a report published today by Irish Maritime Development Office.

Tonnage of dry Dry Bulk cargo that passed through the port fell from 28,307 to 19,522 tonnes, a decrease of 8,785.

Dry bulk materials are unpackaged goods shipped in large parcels such as coal or grains.

However, the quantity of ‘Break Bulk’, which are goods that are stowed on board ship in individually counted units, that moved through Dundalk Port rose by 5%.

9,545 tonnes of Break Bulk moved through the port in the first half of this year compared with 9,076 tonnes in the first half of last year, an increase of 470 tonnes. 

Nationally, In the first six months of 2023, the volumes handled by the Roll-on/Roll-off (RoRo) and Lift-on/Lift-off cargo modes at Irish ports declined significantly. 

When compared to the first half of 2022, RoRo volumes fell by 3%, equivalent to 20,000 fewer RoRo units. LoLo traffic fell by 9%, or 55,000 TEU’s, over the same period.

 According to Irish Maritime Development Office:

“The predominant driver of these declines has been inflation, which has risen considerably both at home and abroad over the last 18 months. Beginning with a rapid rise in energy costs in early 2022, the cost of transporting goods, and the cost of goods themselves, has risen sharply.  

“This has suppressed trade at our ports, with traffic on almost all routes declining to some degree. In this report, the IMDO analyses the performance of the unitised (i.e. RoRo and LoLo) freight markets throughout these tough economic conditions.

“In the RoRo market, volumes in Q1 and Q2 declined by 4% and 3% respectively. Volumes in both quarters were below the long term trend for the sector, the benchmark for which is approximately 300,000 units per quarter. 

“When seasonally adjusted, RoRo traffic declined on a quarterly basis in four of the last five quarters. Rosslare-Europort was the only port to record an increase compared to 2022. This was driven by an announcement in late 2022 that a Cork-Zeebrugge service operated by Grimaldi would move to Rosslare Europort. Finnlines, a Finnish shipping company that is part of the Grimaldi Group, now operates the service from Rosslare.”

However the Irish Maritime Development Office concluded:

“In all, there are positive signals that the declines recorded at Irish ports may be temporary, and that the worst period may have passed. As we have seen from the disruption caused by both Brexit and COVID-19 in recent years, there is a resilience in the Irish maritime freight market that is essential to overcoming economic headwinds such as these.”