Animal feed import and shipping orders up by 11%

A surge in animal feed imports and a significant rise in freight carried on ferries contributed to the upturn, pushing overall shipping volumes to a five year high.

The iShip Index is a quarterly weighted indicator which gauges the health of the Irish maritime industry and the wider economy

The latest reading of the iShip Index (880) indicates an 11% volume increase in shipping activity for Quarter 2 2013 (Q2 2012: 791). Although 12% below the index’s starting point (Q1 2007: 1000), this represents the highest Quarter 2 posting since 2008 (1000). The annual increase was heavily driven by a massive upturn in the Dry Bulk Index, which accounts for over one third of the overall iShip Index. Dry bulk traffic, comprising of commodities such as coal, ore & agricultural products, grew by over 26% as farmers continued to import slews of animal feed to compensate for the poor weather conditions which affected the agricultural sector.

Irish farmers were forced to import more animal feed than normal as an unusually wet summer in 2012 restricted silage cutting.