The North Tyrrhenian Port Network Authority ports have closed the first half of the year with a total throughput of over 19.3 millon tonnes, up 2.8 % on the 18.7 million tonnes handled between January and June the previous year.
The analysis by traffic type shows an 8.3% increase in the RO/RO segment (+4% in terms of tonnes handled)
With 343,000 units disembarked and embarked in Livorno, Piombino, and Portoferraio, RO/RO is now the North Tyrrhenian port network’s top traffic sector, accounting for over 50% of its total turnover.
Both cruise and passenger traffic also performed well. With over 3.8 million units, the sector recorded a +7.7% increase overall.
Livorno Port
A throughput totaling 14.8 million tonnes, -3.4% compared to January-June 2023.
Despite the general downturn in the amount of traffic handled in Livorno, the results for the first half of 2024 reflect a substantial resilience and a growth in certain important traffic sectors, like RO/RO, up 6.7%, to 249,822 units.
In the passenger sector, the port closed the first half of 2024 with a 7.1 % increase in ferry traffic with 1,067,000 passengers and a 73.2% growth in cruise traffic with 342,000 passengers.
Dry bulk also performed well, up 4.8%, with 308,000 tonnes of cargo being handled in the reporting period.
Break bulk forest product traffic, on the other hand, fell 12.5%, to 960,562 tonnes. Likewise, the number of new cars handled in the port also fell by 7.8% to 263,000 units.
Container throughput, at 327,016 TEUs, was 6.1 % lower compared to January-June 2023. This result was due to the -10.2% downturn in empty boxes to 79,015 TEUs, which was far greater than the 1.8% decrease in full containers (224,738 TEUs) and the 20.7% drop in transshipment traffic to around 35 thousand TEUs between January and June.
Piombino Port
The port of Piombino closed the first half of the year with an overall turnover of 3,113,000 tonnes, i.e. a 52.2 % increase in its traffic
Influencing the port’s excellent performance was the growth trend in its liquid bulk traffic, which recorded a 590% increase, mainly thanks to Golar Tundra regasification operations.
RO/RO, which accounts for 48% of its total traffic, was up 13% , with 47,000 vehicles being handled in the port.
Ferry traffic also performed well with 1,239,000 passengers, marking a 2.6% increase.
Similarly, the port’s cruise sector also did well, with 3 calls and 5,455 cruise passengers, up 1.2% on the previous year.
Portoferraio, Rio Marina and Cavo ports
Commercial traffic was stable in the first half of 2024 in ports on the island of Elba, with only a slight drop of 0.5% to 1,335,337 tonnes.
Their ferry sector performed well, up 2.5%, with a total of 1,227,000 passengers embarking/disembarking.
Likewise, there was a 1.3 % growth is in the cruise sector, with 10,099 passengers and 41 calls, i.e. 129 more passengers and one less call compared to the same period in 2023.
President Guerrieri’s comment
“Geopolitical turmoil, manoeuvres by central banks to curb inflation, and negative impacts on spending and industrial production have characterized this first half of the year. Nevertheless, apart from a downturn in certain types of traffic, such as new cars and forest products, overall, our Network ports managed to close the six-month period with positive results,” said the president of the North Tyrrhenian Port Network Authority, Luciano Guerrieri.
Translation by Giles Foster