The Port of Le Havre set a
new record for general cargo in 2001 with 18 million metric tons (MT), an increase of 5.2 percent from 17.1 MT in 2000, according to preliminary traffic statistics. Overall traffic at the port rose to 69.5 MT from 68 MT in 2000. Within the general cargo category, container traffic showed robust growth to 14.6 MT, an increase of 5.7 percent over 2000's figure of 13.8 MT. The port handled around 1,525,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in 2001, with transshipment accounting for 25.9 percent of this traffic, compared with 20.6 percent recorded in 2000. The Port of Le Havre’s increasing role as platform for transshipment of cars in Europe was confirmed by new car traffic moving through its Ro-Ro facilities (nearly 600,000 cars).
During 2001, trade in liquid hydrocarbons expanded by 5.2 percent to 45 MT, while other bulk traffic decreased substantially (-21.3 percent, to 6 MT), primarily due to a reduction in coal imports by Electricité de France (EDF).
In 2001, 814,000 ferry passengers transited the port to and from Portsmouth (UK), an increase of 3.1 percent over 2000.