Imports through Irish ports continue to decline

THE volume of freight traffic through Ireland’s ports continued to fall in the third quarter of the year.

New figures published by the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) show import volumes, through the country’s ports, have now consistently fallen for 15 quarters, with continuing weak consumption the main reason. Furthermore, the situation does not seem likely to improve much in the foreseeable future, according to IMDO director, Glenn Murphy.

“The short-run outlook for the sector remains challenging, as continued uncertainty in the European and wider global economy continues to weaken market demand and impact on consumer confidence,” he added.

The latest IMDO figures show that of the five key areas — lift-on/lift-off trade; roll-on-roll-off traffic; dry bulk volumes; break bulk volumes and tanker/ liquid bulk trade — only dry bulk volumes increased, by 2% year-on-year.

Liquid bulk volumes/ the importation of tanker-based petrol products fell by 7% due to weak domestic demand; while the break bulk sector — mainly comprising shipments of materials for use in the construction sector — fell by 3%.

Despite the poor outlook, this year’s Microelectronics Industry Design Association Ireland conference (MIDAS) heard the export outlook for indigenous Irish companies is very good and can be led by those trading in the microelectronics field.

Addressing the conference in Dublin, Enterprise Ireland chief executive, Frank Ryan said: “Ireland is still operating in a two-speed economy, with the domestic side struggling, but exports are performing very well and exceeding expectations, in many cases.

“We believe that exports will rise above pre-recession levels during the next year as many of the main markets in which Enterprise Ireland companies operate are forecast to grow next year.”

MIDAS Ireland chairman, John Blake, said jobs will increase in line with exports in the microelectronics sector, and 2,000 more jobs are likely to come on stream in the next five years.