Shipping Industry and Cargo Handling
Home to the UK’s second largest container terminal (DP World Southampton), a large amount of shipping and cargo is imported and exported through the Port.
As one of the UK’s leading ports for vehicle imports and exports, Southampton handles over 664,000 vehicles each year, with the total trade value estimated at £6bn. Renault, Ford, Land Rover, Jaguar, Toyota and BMW ship vehicles through Southampton and the Port is Honda’s UK export hub.
As the sole UK import port for Canary Islands produce, Southampton has extensive specialist facilities dedicated to Fresh Produce & Perishables. Each year the port handles around 80,000 tonnes of fresh produce, including peppers, avocados, cucumbers and predominately tomatoes - the majority of tomatoes seen in supermarkets from October to May will be from the Canary Islands.
50% of all the Gadget and Gismo trade with the Far East and China passes through the Port. Flat screen televisions purchased in the high street shops are more than likely to have been shipped via Southampton Port.
The dry bulk cargoes and minerals, including animal feed, fertiliser, scrap, aggregates and marble chippings, are overseen by Solent Stevedores Ltd. The bulk-handling terminal currently handles around £1 million tonnes of cargo a year. A purpose-built glass-processing facility operated by Recresco (the first of its kind to be built in a UK port) processes used bottle-glass into refined glass cullet, which is then shipped around the UK and abroad for use in the bottle-making industry. The Rank Hovis Flour Mill imports and processes around 70,000 tonnes of wheat each year.
Southampton’s liquid-bulk traffic comprises mainly crude oil. The Esso and BP oil refineries at Fawley and Hamble handle over 28 million tonnes of oil and petroleum-related products.