With 38 million tons (MT) of goods handled between January and June 2021, traffic at the Port of Marseille Fos increased by 13% compared with the first half of 2020. All types of goods traffic are increasing, particularly for containers (+2%), new vehicles (+18%), chemical bulk (+11%) and solid bulk (+11%). Only liquid bulk traffic is down compared with 2019 (-7%) despite an increase of +6% compared with 2020.
In total, more than 10 MT of general cargo was handled in the port of Marseille Fos in the first half of 2021, representing an increase of +19% compared with the same period in 2020. Container traffic is particularly vibrant with 755 k TEU handled, an increase of +21% compared to 2020 and +2% compared to 2019. The trailer sector is also doing well with +31% compared with 2020 and +6% compared with 2019. The strongest growth can be seen in new vehicles traffic with an increase of +63% compared to 2020 and +18% compared to 2019.
With more than 6.3 MT handled in the first half of 2021, the sector exceeded its 2019 level by +4%. With the exception of cereals, all solid bulk traffic is increasing, and for some segments it is increasing spectacularly, in particular for the steel sector with an increase of +46% compared with 2020 and +7% compared with 2019.
At the end of June 2021, the port of Marseille Fos handled a total of 21.33 MT of liquid bulk, up from 2020 (+6%) and down from 2019 (-7%). This sector is weakened by the 9% drop in crude and refined oil traffic compared with 2019. The covid-19 pandemic continues to affect the consumption of oil products. LNG traffic continues to grow, +4% compared to 2020 and +6% compared to 2019. Chemical and food bulks are up by +21% compared with 2020 and +11% compared with 2019.
On the downside, maritime passenger transport continues to be strongly affected by the health situation in the first half of 2021: -22% of passengers compared to 2020 and -81% compared to 2019.