Munster Express Online

Tangible signs of recession arise in national port traffic returns for 2008, just published by the Central Statistics Office. Compared with 2007, tonnage dropped by 3 million to 51 million tonnes, a 6% fall. The greatest decline was in bulk cargo, down a whopping 28%, liquid cargo (mainly oil) fell 7. In the unit load, or general cargo area, the fall off was most marked in container freight, down 11%, while ferry traffic was more resilient, down 4.

Waterford bucked the trend, somewhat, with only a 2% reduction in total business from 2.25m tonnes to 2.18m but cedes a long held second place to Cork in container freight.

The unit load sector is very interesting in its make up of two competing systems, container and ferry, or lift-on/off and roll-on/off. Way back in 1995 these rivals were level pegging at 4m tonnes each but since then ferry freight trebled while container lines doubled throughput. The total unit load market is now a colossal 20m tonnes. In the boom years it was the only sector to make substantial increases growing some 5m tonnes since early in the decade. This increase was almost entirely recorded at the port of Dublin, so much for decentralisation.

Turning to the individual ports Dublin is very dominant with 40% of all port trade at 21.1m tonnes, up from a 33% share less than a decade ago. This emphasis, and growing, is quite extraordinary in circumstances where Government have tried to spread the bounty but the gravity of the market piles the attention on Dublin. Adding insult to provincial injury Dublin’s share of the unit load market has risen to a staggering 72%. Such concentration of business could even be strategically unwise from a national perspective but the commercial arguments continue to favour this self-feeding monster, or critical mass as economists would describe the monster!

It is a combination of geography, population and consumption stimulating each other in what appears an irreversible trend, a dangerous assumption but seemingly unstoppable in the short term. Speculation of a new major urban centre being developed in the mid-west, say Limeway or Galwrick, looks fatuous especially in current circumstances but the surprise is that it should be considered at all without any ‘balanced’ reference to the South East.

Waterford’s mainstay has been container traffic and the port was in the vanguard of the ‘container revolution’ pioneered here by Bell Lines 40 years ago. In quick time a 33% share of the national container market was built up boosted by our new found trade with the EU and Waterford’s excellent location relative to mainland Europe. That buoyancy was not to last and market share declined to 20% in 2001 and is now at 15. In its hey day Waterford was a clear second to Dublin with that 33% share and shipping much freight to and from the Cork region. Now that port is delivering a stronger role in the sector and in the last few years has surpassed Waterford with a 19% market share. It would be interesting to have an analysis of the reason for this reversal.

Waterford’s absence from the ferry freight sector has seen the port’s share of the overall unit load market slip to only 6% with Cork at 8 and Rosslare looking at 14. Maybe the new road network combined with competitive sailing distances will redress the slide: again an analysis of whys, wherefores and prospects would be interesting. The recession covers some angles of decline but market share is a more telling measure.

Oil imports never featured to any great extent at Waterford and they have all but disappeared with the Great Island power station converting to gas (pipeline). Nonetheless, an annual throughput averaging 100,000 tonnes will be missed, once described as ‘easy money’ as the berth was privately funded and most of the revenue could fall to the port’s bottom line. The Great Island site is extensive and hopefully good port use can result from the development of any available space and offer some tonnage for a very fine berth.

Bulk traffic has been a bright spot. Long a laggard at Waterford it has found fresh verve at Belview and last year totalled 876,000 tonnes, a fine increase over 619,000 tonnes recorded in 2001. Presumably the new 190-metre quay extension at Belview and favourable economic impact of the improved road network will boost this business further. Good news is a scarce cargo these days.

We, in the South East, could claim better commercial geography but our star in the Republic has never shone well with few champions or agencies in high places or sufficiently motivated to make and plead the case. Intra-region rivalry has also emasculated prospects in the south east and Government was never strong enough, or convinced enough, to direct a case for this region.

Shannon estuary ports are holding steady at around 11m tonnes annually with Cork testing 10m but failing to sustain it. Waterford is staying above 2m whereas regional rival, Rosslare, once locked together with Waterford at that level, has accelerated ahead to 2.7 tonnes on the strength of its exclusive ferry bias. New Ross continues to slip and at 694,000 tonnes in 2008 is now behind Galway and Greenore and could soon be pipped by Drogheda (664,000 tonnes). Some years ago this remarkable inland port, defying economies of ship size, was handling about a million tonnes of cargo a year and in living memory might have ambitioned to overtake Waterford where an historic absence of strategic port investment and failure to resolve a long-running,and debilitating labour dispute did incalculable damage.