2024 was a Year of Growth for the Irish Maritime Sector

The Marine Institute’s Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) have published the Irish Maritime Transport Economist report for 2024 and the key takeaway from this report is that 2024 was a year of growth for the Irish Maritime sector.

The IMDO’s iShip index grew by 2% following a sharp decline in 2023. This was driven in part by a rise in bulk traffic through our ports, particularly dry bulk, where seven out of nine dry bulk ports recorded growth. In the liquid bulk market, volumes declined by 8%, driven almost entirely by a fall in exported products. However, Ireland’s imports of liquid bulk products, such as transport fuel and home heating oil, remain remarkably stable. For ten consecutive years, Ireland has imported approximately 9 million tonnes of liquid bulk goods, with variation of just 4% on average over that time. This shows a consistent demand pattern in the Irish economy for oil-based products, the majority of which is consumed by the transport sector.

There were mixed results in the Roll-on/Roll-off (RoRo) and Lift-on/Lift-off (LoLo) sectors, collectively referred to as the unitised, or containerised sector of Irish port throughput. RoRo traffic declined slightly, by 1% in 2024, following on from a 2% decline recorded in 2023. These modest declines are not attributable to a particular port or route. Rather, trend analysis undertaken by the IMDO using its long-standing time series of port throughput shows that volumes in this sector have plateaued and possibly entered a period of slight contraction. This is at odds with trends in the LoLo sector, where volumes reached record highs in 2024, increasing by 10% and averaging more than 100,000 Twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU’s) per month for the first time. This is consistent with the performance of global seaborne container trade, which grew by 6% in 2024. The volume of container traffic through the key European hub ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp grew by 8% and 3% respectively, adding approximately 1 million TEU’s of throughput when combined.

The impressive growth in the Irish LoLo sector in 2024 represents a strong rebounding, as it follows a 5% decline in 2023- driven by a steep rise in global inflation. It will come as a welcome sign then, that inflation in Ireland and across Europe declined significantly in 2024. The rate of goods inflation in Ireland, which excludes services and is more relevant to importers and exporters of merchandise goods, decreased in 2024, with prices 1.5% lower than a year earlier, as measured by Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices. Across the European Union (EU), goods disinflation was recorded, falling from 6.9% in 2023 to 1.3% in 2024. Alongside these encouraging metrics were positive economic growth figures both domestically and in the economies of our largest trading partners. Irish modified domestic demand remains robust, growing by 2.7% in 2024. In both the UK and EU economies, real GDP grew by 1% each, while real GDP in the United States grew by 2.8%.

Domestic and foreign demand patterns are key predictors of Irish port throughput, especially in the containerised sector, which handles mainly manufactured goods, and such growth underpinned the rise in container traffic at Irish ports in 2024.

There were further encouraging developments in 2025 with the announcement of a new agreement between the EU and the UK in May. This marked a constructive step toward improving trade conditions with Great Britain, Ireland’s largest maritime trading partner. More than one third of all Irish port traffic involves ports in Great Britain, underlining the importance of this relationship. A central feature of the agreement was the reform of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, reducing complexity in inspections and documentation. These changes are particularly advantageous for Irish agri-food exporters, easing logistical challenges and enhancing market access.

Liam Lacey, Director of the IMDO, commented; “The maritime transport sector plays an essential role in maintaining and strengthening Ireland’s international trading relationships. The sector continues to innovate to support economic growth, enhance efficiency, and promote national competitiveness. I would like to thank all those who contribute to the Irish Maritime Transport Economist series. Their support and input is vital to its continued value and impact.”

Please find the full report HERE.

ENDS

For more information, please contact:
Holly Faulkner
Marketing & Communications Manager
Irish Maritime Development Office | Three Park Place |  Upper Hatch Street |  Dublin 2 |  D02 FX65 | Ireland
Office: 00 353 1 7753900 | Direct: 00 353 1 7753958 | Mobile: 00 353 87 7851155