The total volume of cargo shipments through the Netherlands’ seaports fell by 7.6 per cent to 574 million tonnes in 2023, according to new figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS). This decline affected both incoming and outgoing shipments, with a notable reduction in goods from Russia and a significant increase in cargo from the US.
In 2023, Dutch seaports unloaded 396 million tonnes of goods, representing an 8.6 per cent year-on-year decline. Outbound cargo destined for other countries also decreased by 5.1 per cent, totalling 178 million tonnes.
The volume of container goods arriving at Dutch seaports fell as well. The total weight of containerised goods dropped by 4.6 per cent, and the number of containers, measured in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), declined by 6.9 per cent. More than a quarter of all containers arrived from China. Although the proportion of containers from China remained steady, their number decreased by 5.5 per cent, as per CBS.
Cargo from the US surged, with a 28.8 per cent increase compared to 2022. The US emerged as the largest source of inbound cargo, providing 58.5 million tonnes, or 14.8 per cent of the total. Russia, which was the largest supplier in 2022, saw its share plummet to 2.7 per cent in 2023. This sharp decline followed the implementation of additional EU sanctions on petroleum, petroleum products, and coal from Russia starting in December 2022.
Following the US, the largest quantities of goods unloaded in 2023 came from the UK, Norway, Brazil, and China, respectively.