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World tradeWill it ever be the same again?
10 September 2008
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Irish volumes drop for the first time in 10 years
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Shipping volumes at Irish ports have fallen for the first time in a decade, providing further evidence of the downturn in the economy, the Irish Times reported.
The volume of cargo transported through the ports fell during the first half of 2008, according to the mid-year analysis of traffic volume carried out by the Irish Maritime Development Office.
Container traffic volumes fell compared to the same six months of 2007, with both key market segments in load-on/load-off traffic declining by four percent and roll-on/roll-off traffic declining three percent.
Bulk volumes fell by eight per cent year on year to June, due mainly to a fall-off in demand for construction related imports of steel, cement, timber and other building materials.
The traffic figures show that the volume of imports declined sharply by four percent compared to 12 percent growth over the same period last year.
A major drop in imports from China was particularly evident, with some operators indicating a reduction in volumes by as much as 20 percent.
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