The volume of goods handled by Rotterdam port fell 8.5% to 385 million tonnes this year, according to provisional figures presented on Wednesday.

Hans Smits, head of Rotterdam port, said in a statement that he is not unhappy with the result. ‘Considering the circumstances, we cannot be dissatisfied. After hitting rock bottom in the second quarter, throughput has been improving slightly every month and virtually all the investments are going ahead. Moreover, Rotterdam is doing better than its main rivals,’ he said.
Smits had expected the decline to be around 10% says the Telegraaf.