21 January 2021
New figures released today reveal that Port of Newcastle's import/export volume performance of 2020 strengthened in 2021, despite global supply chain challenges and the continuing impacts of the pandemic.
Acting CEO, Nick Livesey, said the results indicates the strength and capability of Australia's deepwater global gateway has facilitated approximately $37 billion to the national economy during 2021.
"In 2021, Port of Newcastle handled 4697 ship movements and 166.1 million tonnes of cargo including coal, dry bulk, bulk liquids, roll-on roll-off cargo, general and project cargoes and containers."
"This represents an increase of 1.6Mt of overall trade compared with 2020, with an extra 3 per cent of vessels visiting the port in 2021," Mr Livesey said.
2021 trade saw records held for almost a quarter of a century tumble across a number of key export commodities.
"Many people don't realise that the Port handles 25 different cargoes through its deepwater global gateway, only one of which is coal. We have seen increased demand for diversified trades across the board, including wheat, fertiliser, steel, cement, fuels, project cargo and aluminium" said Matthew Swan, the Port's Acting Executive Manager Business Development.
"Achieving highest diversified trade volumes recorded since 1997, last year saw fertiliser imports grow 69 per cent year on year in 2021, with over 720,000 tonnes exported through the Port. After years of long drought impacting supply, wheat exports also surged, up 900 per cent on 2020 with over 3 million tonnes of the commodity travelling through the Port."