Dublin Port volumes down in the first half of the year, but not as much as expected
There was a near 11% reduction in the volume of goods passing through Dublin Port in the first six months of this year, according to figures from the Dublin Port Company.
Overall port tonnage was 10.9% lower than in the same six month period last year.
A first quarter decline of almost 5% – which was attributed to ‘Brexit stockpiling’ in the first three months of 2019 – was followed by a steeper decline of 17% in the second quarter as the pandemic impacted the economy.
However, the decline was not as severe as expected.
A 26.2% decline in tonnage in April was followed by a smaller decline of 20.5% in May and a fall of just 5.5% in June.
Ferry passenger numbers were down by over 78% to 120,000 – the majority of whom were HGV drivers and other critical supply chain workers.
The number of tourist vehicles fell by over 84% to 24,000.
There were no cruise ship calls to Dublin Port in the second three months and none is anticipated for the remainder of the year.
“The Q2 decline of 17% in cargo volumes was less than we had feared it might be. After the first six months of the year, our volumes are down by 10.9%. At this level, our throughput for the full year would be back to where it was in 2016,” Eamonn O’Reilly, Chief Executive of Dublin Port said.
“We saw after the 2008 recession how rapidly the Irish economy can recover from a deep recession and we seem to be seeing some evidence of this resilience in recent months where a 26.2% fall off in April was followed by a smaller decline of 20.5% in May and by a decline of just 5.5% in June.”
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