The Swedish container market had a slight downturn during H1 2019, with a 1% fall, but the Port of Gothenburg has reported a steady rise in both market share and volume.
Between January and September this year, the figure stood at four per cent, due largely to continued influx of hinterland rail volumes at the port.
Container traffic continues to grow at the Port of Gothenburg following a downturn in 2016-2017. The recovery was particularly noticeable in 2018 with road-based traffic from western Sweden and its hinterland gradually returning to the Port of Gothenburg.
The trend continued into 2019, attributable in the main to higher volumes from the rest of Sweden. This can be seen in the Q1-Q3 statistics published recently by Gothenburg Port Authority.
The rise in freight flows from the whole of Sweden to the Port of Gothenburg is borne out by strong figures for rail-based container traffic. The vast majority of inland freight arrives at the Port of Gothenburg by rail, with volumes increasing by 20 per cent between January and September. Long-distance volumes from northern and eastern Sweden are also making a comeback.
“The Port of Gothenburg serves the whole of Sweden and the current trend is underpinned by our continued nationwide upturn in the container sector. The focus at the Port of Gothenburg is on ensuring industry has uninterrupted access to external markets, despite an uncertain business climate and a cautious domestic market,” said Elvir Dzanic, Gothenburg Port Authority chief executive.
Even if uncertainty in the economy has yet to make its mark on Port of Gothenburg container figures for this year, it has impacted on volumes in a number of the port’s other freight categories.
Meanwhile, Almost 60 cruise ships visited Gothenburg in 2019, carrying 110,00 passengers – the highest number ever recorded at the port.