The Port of Genoa registered a dip in overall cargo volumes of -0.3% in the first two months, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, due to the slowdown in trade recorded in February, following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic which has started to ripple across the port industry.
In terms of commodity sectors, container volumes increased by + 9.5% (+24,706 teus) in February on 2019 (+7.6% in the first 2 months), whilst conventional cargo dropped slighty (-0.7% but up +1.2% in the first 2 months), which includes a fall in specialised terminal commodity throughput (-34.2% in January/Februray), but an increase in ro-ro traffic (+3,5% in January/February).
Bulk trade fell sharply: solid bulk by -35,8% across the first 2 months of the year, although it rose by +10.8% in February, whilst mineral oils dropped by -6.4% and other liquid bulk by -25.6%.
A reduction in petroleum products traffic is the result of the initial effects of the spread of the coronavirus disease on the demand for fuel.
In February, Genoa’s Passenger Port performed strongly (+21%), a record passenger throughput (191,733 cruise and ferry) for January/February in the last five years.
Overall, volumes have only partially suffered the impact of the coronavirus outbreak in the opening months of the year across the Port of Genoa. The cruise industry, which has now come to a standstill, and trade, which has started to slow down globally, is expected to be reflected in port throughput as of March 2020.
Traffic Ports of Genova e Pra’ - February 2020 ({docidfileslight}929{/docidfileslight})
