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Dublin Port Company’s full year trading figures for 2017 show that cargo volumes hit record levels for the third year in a row.<\/p>\nDublin Port Company’s full year trading figures for 2017 show that cargo volumes hit record levels for the third year in a row.<\/p>\n
The numbers show growth of 4.3% up to a new record level of 36.4m gross tonnes last year and brings overall growth at Dublin Port in the last five years to 30.1%.<\/p>\n
The report shows that imports rose by 3.9% to 21.5m gross tonnes while exports grew more strongly by 4.9% to 14.9 million gross tonnes.<\/p>\n
Containers and freight trailers account for 83% of all cargo and both the Ro-Ro and Lo-Lo sectors had major increases.<\/p>\n
Ro-Ro went up by 5% in 2017 to almost one million Ro-Ro units (992,000), while Lo-Lo container volumes grew by 5.2% to 698,000 TEU.<\/p>\n
The company invested \u20ac75m in port infrastructure in 2017 and plans to invest a further \u20ac132m this year.<\/p>\n
Dublin Port\u2019s Chief Executive, Eamonn O\u2019Reilly, said: \u201cEvery year from 1993 to 2007 was a record year in Dublin Port. In the past three years we have seen this pattern re-emerge, with 2017 the third year in a row for record growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are projecting another record year in 2018 with growth of about 5%. Dublin Port\u2019s growth is driven by domestic demand and both population growth and a stronger economy will continue to drive volumes up for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n
\u201cIrish Ferries has committed \u20ac165m in a huge new ship for the Dublin-Holyhead route due by mid-2020. Later this year, the \u20ac150m W.B. Yeats will commence a service from Dublin to Cherbourg.\u201d <\/p>\n