The Port of Marseilles boosted container traffic 15 percent in November from a year ago but will miss its 2010 target of 1 million 20-foot equivalent units because of strike action earlier in the year.

France's second-largest box hub handled 79,755 TEUs in November, compared with 69,401 TEUs a year ago, boosting its traffic for the first 11 months to 880,200 TEUs, up 9 percent from 808,620 TEUs in the same period in 2009.

Marseilles' box traffic was "particularly hard hit" by a series of strikes in the late summer over government reforms.

Many shippers who rerouted cargoes via Antwerp during the strike want to continue using the Belgian port, Dirk Becquart, the development director of the port authority told the newspaper La Provence.

However, total cargo traffic grew 3 percent, or 2.3 million metric tons, in the first 11 months, to 78.3 million metric tons despite a 33-day strike at the oil import terminal.

This puts France's largest port on course to overtake the 83 million metric tons of traffic in 2009.

General cargo grew 9 percent in the first 11 months to 14.5 million metric tons, and dry bulk traffic increased 42 percent to 10.6 million metric tons, driven by higher imports in a reviving steel industry.

Oil and gas shipments fell 4 percent to 50.2 million metric tons, reflecting lower demand and the strike by oil terminal workers.

The Journal of Commerce Online