The Annual report of Port of Turku 2022 has now been published
Port of Turku Ltd’s tenth operating year as a limited liability company was financially favourable although the conditions remained challenging. In spite of the general economic recession and the global crises of recent years the Port’s operating result was slightly higher than expected.
The Port’s traffic volumes were still strongly affected by the war in Ukraine and the exit of Tallink Silja’s m/s Galaxy from the route. Despite a reduction of one vessel, the passenger traffic volume reached the target level of 2.5 million passengers which was down by only 8 per cent compared to the previous year.
In cargo transports the economic recession was visible in the volume of imports in particular. Despite the difficult conditions, the relative cargo volume in the Port of Turku decreased much less compared to many other Finnish ports. Excluding the effect of the absence of m/s Galaxy, the cargo volume in Turku only decreased by around 5 per cent, while the decline in all Finnish ports was on average 8 per cent. Positive development was seen in the rental of warehouse space which acts as one of the cornerstones for cargo transports.
The Port of Turku’s environmental work paves the way towards a carbon neutral future. Several steps in that direction were taken during 2023, the most important of which were the engaging to the City of Turku’s climate commitment and the co-operation agreement for creating a green corridor for maritime transports between Turku and Stockholm.
2024 is still expected to be a challenging year, but the outlook gets more positive as the year goes on. According to forecasts, the recession will end and the economy will take a slight turn upwards, but faster growth is not expected to take place until 2025. The weak international demand weighs down Finland’s exports, and the slowing down of private consumption is also visible in the demand for import items, both of which are reflected in the operation of ports.
The Port of Turku nevertheless relies on the Port’s competitiveness which is based on strengths built through long-term work.