HAROPA Port noted the continued growth in its operations for the first half of the year with noted increases in both maritime and river container traffic for the period.

The major maritime hub — the 5th largest in northern Europe — also signaled continuous investments like the recently announced MSC -TiL deal, which it said "offer prospects for continued growth into the future."

"HAROPA Port is continuing to grow following 2021, a year of economic rebound," the French gateway said, adding that maritime traffic in the first six months of 2022 progressed by 5% and river container traffic registered a significant increase of 31% in Gennevilliers.

It added that the recent figures have presented half-year results that improve on the first half of 2021.

For the first half of 2022, HAROPA Port said maritime traffic totalled 42.08Mt of goods, up by +2Mt. Liquid bulk traffic registered a growth of 14.5% or +2.62Mt, in line with the restarting of operations at Gonfreville refinery.

Dry bulk traffic, meanwhile, declined by 4.2% despite a positive trend in the cereals segment (+2%) and a 2022-23 marketing year judged to be as good as 2021-2022.

It said aggregates traffic going to the construction market registered a fall of -22%, down by 260kt, as of the end of June, but up by +8% on average and remaining generally at historically high levels, underpinned by a positive trend in construction projects.

"This weakening can be put down to unfavourable weather in the early months of the year, which had an impact on worksites and logistics conditions for materials," HAROPA Port said.

Meanwhile, it added that container traffic remained at the same level with 1.485 million TEUs and a 2% increase in inland operations —  although market share expanded marginally against the backdrop of a general decline in container traffic across the Northern Range.

HAROPA noted that ferry freight vehicle traffic continued to be positive at +26% over 2021, passenger traffic stood at +24 % and maritime traffic at the ro-ro terminal registered a fall of -19.4% but gained a +10-point variation in June.

Impact of Russia-Ukraine war cited

"In the face of the present crises, HAROPA PORT is asserting its resilience and its ability to withstand national and international pressures," the gateway said.

It noted that the war in Ukraine has had a "substantial impact" on trade in agricultural products globally, and specifically on exports of wheat, maize and oilseeds, these being largely carried by sea, which means that stocks have been blocked in the Black Sea ports and forthcoming harvests are also compromised.

"Notwithstanding this, the situation highlights the key role played by France as a supplier of wheat and barley to countries with a structural need for imports, thus opening up new market opportunities," HAROPA said.

HAROPA Port, on the other hand, noted that it has consolidated its position as a logistics and industrial hub and enhanced its attractiveness with continued major investment along the Seine Axis.

It said among these, Swiss company TiL, a subsidiary of shipping line MSC, is committed to investing €700 million to triple the capacity of the container terminals it operates at the port of Le Havre.