How well have we served you in the first quarter of the year?

Harsh weather conditions and geopolitical events have affected the first quarter of the year at APM Terminals Gothenburg. Nevertheless, a summary of the quarter’s productivity figures shows that the port continues to serve its customers with steady and stable productivity, while volumes reach record levels.

'Due to the situation in the Red Sea, APM Terminals, like many other ports, has experienced delayed vessels and large fluctuations in volumes during the first quarter of 2024. In February and March, volumes also reached a historic peak', says Per Wahlström, market analyst at APM Terminals Gothenburg. On one single stop APM Terminals handled almost the same import volume as all Sweden’s ports together for one week.

Weather challenges have affected production

'The number of vessels that stopped at APM Terminals later than agreed in the 'last handshake' during the first quarter is higher compared to the same period last year. At the same time, fewer vessels left the port later than scheduled. In addition to ship delays, the unstable weather has created major challenges for production'. says Jasmin Mujdzic, Operational Manager at APM Terminals Gothenburg:

'We always do our utmost to help late ships catch up with their schedule, even if it's been tougher than normal in early 2024 due to strong winds. The safety of our staff and our customers’ goods is always our top priority. If it's no longer safe to load and unload, we'll pause the operation until the weather conditions have stabilised.

Nevertheless, we're pleased that we've been able to maintain a steady productivity and that we've been able to offer our customers extra service when needed'. 

Increased import volumes and high pressure at the gates

In 2023, waiting times at the APM Terminal’s gates decreased to under 30 minutes on average. These figures increased slightly in the first quarter of 2024, which Jasmin Mujdzic explains is largely due to delayed imports.

'Delays and volume fluctuations mean uneven flows. To minimise the impact, we restructured the yard to free up more space and create smoother flows, a project that is constantly ongoing to meet varying needs and challenges'. 'The supply chain bottlenecks that arose at the end of the previous year affected the first quarter, but are expected to be smoothed out significantly in the second quarter,” he concludes.