Unitised traffic, which consists of Ro-Ro and Lo-Lo traffic, continued to rise steadily. Unitised traffic for this quarter grew by 6% when compared to 3Q15.
The majority of Ro-Ro traffic moves between Ireland and Great Britain. The Ro-Ro freight sector saw volume growth of 5% in Q3. This is the fourth consecutive Q3 increase in this freight category since 2012.
As for Lo-Lo traffic, this has now seen three consecutive Q3 increases, the largest of which (6%) has come this quarter. Both Lo-Lo imports and exports performed strongly, rising by 5% and 7% respectively. Overall, Lo/Lo laden traffic in ROI increased 6% to 174 791 TEU.
The overall bulk traffic segment saw tonnage volumes decrease by 0.02%, excluding transhipments, when compared to the previous year. This was driven primarily by a 10% drop-off in liquid bulk as well as a 14% drop in coal. Break bulk, which largely consists of imports of construction and project related commodities, increased by 7%.
There was a 3% rise in dry bulk traffic for 3Q16, driven mainly by fertilizer. This reflects the reality that a high degree of fluctuation in traffic volume is typical in the dry bulk market when viewed on a quarterly basis.
