According to data recently released by Port Economics on the top 15 European container ports in the first quarter of 2020, Genoa ranks as one of the few gateway ports to have maintained box volumes in line with the corresponding period of the previous year (+ 0.3%)
Following the lockdown measures implemented initially across China and subsequently across Europe, trade on the Far East-Europe maritime route fell substantially and, consequently, the majority of ports monitored by Port Economics suffered setbacks, with the exception of the major Mediterranean transhipment hubs, specifically, Gioia Taura and Algeciras, and the mixed transhipment-gateway Port of Antwerp.
In Northern Europe, the strong performance of the Belgian ports. Antwerp and Zeebrugge is in sharp contrast with other ports of the Northern Range, namely, Le Havre and Hamburg.
In the Mediterranean, Piraeus reported a disruption to its recent steep growth curve, whilst Barcelona and Valencia registered a -14% and a -5% decline in container volumes respectively.
