Container traffic at Irish ports falls for first time in 10 years

CONTAINER traffic through Irish ports has fallen for the first time in 10 years.

The continuing fallout from the global credit crunch and the strength of the euro against other currencies have contributed to a fall in container traffic through Irish ports in the first half of this year — the first drop in such business recorded in over 10 years.

New figures, published yesterday by the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO), show that roll-on/roll-off container volumes fell by 4% in the first six months of the year, compared to the same period last year.