News
Overall total freight tonnage handled by UK ports declined by 3% in 2016. This decline is attributable to a large reduction in demand for coal imports, according to ''UK Port Freight Statistics: 2016'' recently published by the Department of Transport (DtF). Despite this, steady growth has been experienced in unitized traffic, which saw its fourth consecutive year of growth in 2016.
According to the report, 484.0 million tons were handled by UK ports in 2016, down 3% from 2015. The vast majority of this freight, 472.8 million tons, was through major ports. Major port coal tonnage handled fell 53% from 2015, to 12.0 million tons in 2016, reflecting reduced demand.
UK ports handled 24.1 million units of traffic in 2016, a rise of 2%. Container traffic rose by 3% to 5.9 million units (or 10.2 million TEUs) - a record high - and roll on - roll off cargo rose by 1% to 18.2 million units passing through UK ports in 2016.
