The trend of declining European trade and stable global throughput at the Port of Gothenburg was reversed in 2013.

The port's ro-ro traffic, which accounts for most European freight movements, rose 4% year-on-year for the first time since 2010, reaching 557,000 ro-ro units.

"We have spoken for a long time about the trend in European trade bottoming out. We can now see the first indications for a long time that Swedish industry is increasing its trade with other countries in Europe, which is extremely pleasing," said Magnus Kårestedt, Port of Gothenburg chief executive.

Box traffic dropped 5% from 2012 levels to 858,000 teu. "This is the first time since 2009 that global trade flows through the port have fallen. We are hoping to see a recovery in 2014," commented Kårestedt.

The largest energy port in the Nordic region also saw a drop of 8% in energy products to 2.4m tonnes as rising petrol volumes failed to counter a drop in crude oil imports.

Despite an 18% drop in the first half of they year, new passenger car movements rebounded 24% in the second half to remain steady at 163,000 for the year.