Dublin Port trade slips 10%

Trade at Dublin Port fell by more than 10 per cent last year, but levels of imports and exports showed signs of stabilising in the second half of 2009, the Dublin Port Company said today.

Total throughout at the port was down from 29.6 million tonnes in 2008 to 29.6 million last year, at 10.5 per cent fall that beat expectations. Dublin Port Company had expected a fall of 14 per cent year on year. The port also recorded a slight upturn in December.

Some 13.5 million tonnes went through the port in the second half of the year, 6 per cent less than in 2008. The final quarter of the year showed trade volumes of 6.9 million tonnes, similar to the same period in 2008.

A difficult year for both the agricultural and construction sectors contributed to a decline in the bulk solid trades, which includes animal feed, ore exports and construction material. Bulk liquid trade, which is mainly made up of the import of motor fuel and aviation spirit, remained relatively stable.

Total throughput is now 14 per cent lower than record highs recorded in 2007. However, traffic is still four and five times above the level of trade seen at the port 15 years ago.

The tourism sector put in a strong performance, with ferry passengers rising 18 per cent to 1.5 million. Dublin Port Company said this was the best year for ferry tourism at the port since the company was established as a corporate entity in 1997.

"Our cruise business continues to deliver for city businesses with almost 80 cruise liners calling at Dublin Port contributing between €35 and €50 million to the local economy. This topped off a highly successful decade for Dublin's cruise sector which benefited the city to the tune of €350 million with 500,000 passengers calling at Dublin Port," the company said in a statement.

The number of tourist cars passing through the port was 24 per cent to 183,000 last year.

Unitised trade, which comprises consumer goods, was down 10 per cent in the year as retail sales were hit by the economic downturn. This trade accounts for 78 per cent of the port's throughput.

Chief financial officer Michael Sheary said the company expected trade levels to continue to stabilise at around 2.2 million tonnes per month.

"Any significant increase in throughput in the second half of the year will be dependent on a number of factors including improved consumer sentiment for imports and the strength of the euro against Sterling which is a particular issue for exporters and renewed growth in the economies of our main trading partners," he said.

"Should these factors turn in our favour, the uplift in trade could bring our total throughput on an annualised basis close to 28 million tonnes for the latter part of the year."