Transport in foreign shipping traffic decreased by 8 per cent in 2023

Imports and exports in foreign sea transport decreased by 8 per cent

In 2023, foreign sea transport decreased by eight per cent compared to 2022. A total of 87.3 million tonnes of goods were transported. Imports went down by eight per cent and totalled 45.1 million tonnes. Exports also decreased by eight per cent and amounted to 42.3 million tonnes.

The most transported goods in foreign shipping traffic were general cargo, oil products and crude oil, which make up 43 per cent of all transport. Crude oil, general cargo and ores and concentrates were imported most. Oil products, general cargo and paper were exported most.

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Measured by the volume of goods transported, the largest ports in 2023 were, in order, Sköldvik, HaminaKotka, Helsinki, Raahe and Rauma.

In all, 69 per cent of goods imported in foreign shipping traffic came from countries in the Baltic Sea area and only 12 per cent from other than European ports. Altogether 52 per cent of export goods were exported to countries in the Baltic Sea area and 22 per cent were exported outside European ports. Combining imports and exports, most sea transport took place between Finland and Sweden in 2023, totalling 13.5 million tonnes. Most goods were imported from Norway, 9.6 million tonnes and most were exported to Germany, 8.6 million tonnes.

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The decrease in imports from Russia that started in 2022 as a result of the Russian war of aggression continued in 2023 as well. Imports from Russia went down by 95 per cent compared to 2022, now being only two per cent of the import volumes in 2021 prior to the war. As a result, imports of crude oil, especially from Norway, have increased further. In 2023, altogether 79 per cent of all crude oil imported to Finland was imported from Norway, while still in 2021, most of the crude oil, 81 per cent, was imported from Russia. Of all imported goods, the share of imports from Russia was 0.4 per cent in 2023, while still in 2021 it was 22 per cent.

Transport performance decreased by 13 per cent from the previous year

During 2023, the transport performance of foreign shipping traffic totalled 233 billion tonne-kilometres. The transport performance of exports amounted to 126 billion tonne-kilometres and that of imports to 107 billion tonne-kilometres. Both exports and imports decreased by 13 per cent compared to 2022. Changes in the import and export countries and transport volume of goods are directly reflected in the transport performance.

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Transit transport through Finnish ports decreased by 37 per cent

Transit transport through Finnish ports totalled 3.2 million tonnes in 2023. Most of this was transit exports, 2.8 million tonnes. Transit imports amounted to 0.4 million tonnes. The majority of transit exports, 91 per cent, consist of fertilisers. Nearly two-thirds of transit imports consist of general cargo.

The volume of transit transport decreased by 37 per cent compared to 2022. The volume of transit exports decreased by 38 per cent and that of transit imports by 29 per cent. Russia's attack on Ukraine has caused changes especially in Russian transit transport.

Nearly one-third of the volume of goods was transported in containers and transport equipment

A total of 10.7 million tonnes of goods were transported in containers through Finnish ports in 2023. The volume was four per cent lower than in 2022. The number of containers transported was 0.8 million, which corresponds to 1.4 million TEU containers. Exports of goods transported in containers remained almost unchanged, but imports, measured in tonnes, decreased by 11 per cent compared to 2022.

A total of 3.1 million transport equipment was transported. A total of 15.1 million tonnes of goods were transported in goods transport equipment. Lorries, 0.7 million, and lorry trailers, 0.4 million, were transported most.

The volume of goods transported in transport equipment and containers totalled 25.9 million tonnes, which is 30 per cent of all goods transported in shipping traffic.

Number of passengers in foreign shipping traffic still fell short of the pre-pandemic level

In 2023, the number of passengers in foreign shipping traffic increased by six per cent compared to 2022. Despite the growth in the number of passengers, passengers only made up 70 per cent of the level of 2019 prior to the pandemic.

A total of 13.5 million persons were transported in passenger traffic in 2023. Of the passengers in shipping traffic, 96 per cent travelled on routes to Estonia and Sweden. In all, 7.2 million passengers travelled between Finland and Estonia and 5.8 million between Finland and Sweden. A total of 0.2 million passengers travelled between Finland and Germany.

In 2023, a total of 166,927 passengers on foreign cruise ships arrived in Finland, which is three per cent fewer than in 2022 and only 27 per cent of the number of passengers in 2019 prior to the pandemic, which was 609,839.

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No goods were transported through the Saimaa Canal

Russia's attack on Ukraine in practice stopped goods transport through the Saimaa Canal in the early part of 2022. In 2023, no goods at all were transported through the Saimaa Canal.