After the record figures for 2017, for the 2nd year running in 2018, HAROPA posted an overall growth figure in goods traffic of +2% to reach 94.74 million tonnes in the maritime sector and +4.5% to 22.1 million tonnes for river-borne traffic in Ile-de-France, supported mainly this year by dry bulk.
These good results confirm the interest of the HAROPA port complex: thanks to their complementarity over a broad spectrum of sectors, the ports of the Seine corridor can face economic contingencies together and consolidate their attractiveness on the North-European range.
DRY BULK: +19% > A SIGNIFICANT GAIN IN MARKET SHARE
Grain: +37% at 7.6 Mt > HAROPA more than ever is the #1 grain port in Western Europe
The tonnage of grain exported through HAROPA ports amounted to 7.6 Mt, one of the best performances of the past 15 years. This result in calendar years confirmed the good result of the 2017/2018 grain harvest, which ended last June with traffic of 7 Mt (+75%) and a 50% national market share for exports by sea shipping of wheat and barley. In addition, for the 2017/2018 season, the share of bulk inland haulage of grain reached 29.5%, an increase of 10% compared with the previous year.
Note the very good results for fertilizers and agribusiness in the same season.
For Nicolas Occis, Managing Director of HAROPA - Port of Rouen, "HAROPA is consolidating its position as the leading grain port for France and Western Europe. Despite the ups and downs in the quality of the harvests, all grains combined, we have continued to gain market share for exports (44.6% in 2017/2018 against 35% the previous year) but also on all the agri-food and conventional cargo sectors.
It should be noted that the increase in maritime traffic is combined with an increase in bulk inland haulage over the Seine valley".
CONSTRUCTION AND CIVIL ENGINEERING: +34% to 1.67 Mt for sea traffic in aggregates -> maritime and inland waterway transport combine to form a global logistics solution
After a year of high growth in 2017, traffic experienced dynamic growth in 2018 thanks to the good conditions of the building sector especially in the Ile-de-France region, and the start of construction
sites in the Greater Paris Development Plan.
- River-borne transport of aggregates in Ile-de-France: +0.7% at 10.8 Mt, despite the flooding of the Seine and the damage of locks upstream of Paris at the beginning of the year.
- River-borne transport of spoil in Ile-de-France: +12.4% at 4.8 Mt, marking a new record.
- Maritime transport of aggregates: +34% at 1.67 Mt.
For Re´gine Brehier, Managing Director of HAROPA - Ports of Paris, "This good result in the sea shipping of building materials for supply in marine aggregates (+34%), and in river-borne transport to supply construction sites and the evacuation of spoil meant a new record year for the sector. The growth in both forms of transport reflects the growing importance of ports and both river-borne and seaborne transport for the logistics of major construction projects and the construction industry as a whole. HAROPA offers the sector a global solution sought especially by the stakeholders in the building sites for the Greater Paris Development Plan."