Shipping and port activity in the Republic of Ireland rose by 5% in the second quarter of 2016 when compared to the corresponding period of 2015, according to the latest quarterly iShip Index, published today by the Irish Maritime Development Office.
Overall, shipping and port activity in the Republic of Ireland rose by 5% in the second quarter of 2016 when compared to the corresponding period of 2015, according to the latest quarterly iShip Index, published by the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO). The latest analysis also indicates that three of the five principal freight segments grew in the second quarter of 2016.
Unitised traffic - which consists of Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro/Ro) and Lift-on/Lift-off (Lo/Lo) traffic - continued to rise steadily. It has now shown consistent growth; displaying at least 3% year on year (YOY) growth since Q2 2013, as measured by the i-Ship index. Unitised traffic growth for this quarter is at 7% when compared to Q2 2015.
The majority of Ro/Ro traffic moves between Ireland and Great Britain, meaning this freight segment is a simple but reliable indicator of the level of trade between both economies. The Ro/Ro freight sector saw volume growth of 9% in the second quarter, up from 7% this time last year. This is the fourteenth consecutive YOY increase that Ro/Ro has experienced.
Lo/Lo traffic has now seen eleven consecutive YOY increases. Specifically, Lo/Lo imports performed strongly, rising 7% to reach 102,496 TEUs, whereas Lo/Lo exports grew by 1%. Overall, Lo/Lo container traffic increased 4% to 178,183 TEU.
When reviewing unitised traffic it is worth noting that both Lo/Lo and Ro/Ro freight move in an all-island setting. Therefore when Northern Irish ports are included, all-island Ro/Ro volume grew by 8% in Q2 2016, while all-island Lo/Lo traffic grew by 2%. All island traffic in the Lo/Lo sector has grown 5% since January 2016, with imports rising 5% and exports 3% during that period.
The total bulk traffic segment in the Republic of Ireland saw tonnage volumes increase by 3%, excluding transhipments. This was driven primarily by a strong increase in Dry Bulk traffic, which rose by 7% - with animal feed in particular showing strong growth. The Dry Bulk increase follows a 1% fall in Q1 2016. Such high degrees of fluctuation in traffic volumes are typical in the Dry Bulk market when viewed on a quarterly basis.
Break Bulk has continued to decline since the beginning of 2016. From January to June, break traffic has fallen 13% when compared to the same period in 2015. Liquid bulk however, is little changed on Q2 2015; contracting by 1%.
Note: The iShip index is a volume index for all freight traffic moved to and from the Republic of Ireland. This does not include passengers, and transshipment activity.
Note: All freight and passenger comparisons are done on a yearly basis (Q2 2016 v Q2 2015)
Release issued by Liam Lacey, Director, Irish Maritime Development Office, August 2016