Sharp drop in container traffic to Irish ports as product and transport costs rise

New data for the first six months of 2023 show roll-on/roll-off traffic fell 3% while lift-on/lift-off cargo was down 9%. Picture: Dan Linehan

The rising cost of goods and transport costs have resulted in a sharp drop in container traffic through Irish ports.

New data for the first six months of 2023 show roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) traffic fell 3% while lift-on/lift-off (LoLo) cargo was down 9%.

Analysis by the Irish Maritime Development Office shows the predominant driver of the declines has been inflation, which has risen considerably both at home and abroad over the last 18 months.

Beginning in early 2022, the cost of transporting goods and the cost of goods themselves have risen sharply. "This has suppressed trade at our ports, with traffic on almost all routes declining to some degree," the report states.

For Ro-Ro traffic, Rosslare Europort was the only port to record an increase compared to 2022. This was driven by an announcement in late 2022 that a Cork-Zeebrugge service operated by Grimaldi would move to Rosslare Europort.

Finnlines, a Finnish shipping company that is part of the Grimaldi Group, now operates the service from Rosslare.

The changing nature of container traffic in the wake of Brexit has continued.

The breakdown in RoRo traffic between ports in mainland Great Britain and ports in mainland Europe has now exhibited the same post-Brexit trends for 10 consecutive quarters.

Direct traffic from Ireland to the continent continues to represent one in three RoRo units, compared to one in six prior to January 2021. As a result, the maritime office said there was no immediate sign of a return to the pre-Brexit makeup of the Irish RoRo freight market.

The report shows the decline in LoLo traffic was also reflected at an international level, with global seaborne trade indicators for container traffic exhibiting sharp declines, particularly in the early months of 2023, a trend that was mirrored at Irish ports.

However, the IMDO said there were several reasons to be optimistic about the near future for maritime traffic. Inflation has begun to ease across the EU and the latest Central Bank reports show domestic growth in Ireland remains robust and is higher than what was expected earlier in the year.

"There are positive signals that the declines recorded at Irish ports may be temporary and that the worst period may have passed.

"As we have seen from the disruption caused by both Brexit and covid-19 in recent years, there is a resilience in the Irish maritime freight market that is essential to overcoming economic headwinds such as these."