Slovenia's Luka Koper sets car transshipment record in Nov

"We exceeded the highest monthly number of transhipped vehicles by 1,304 vehicles," Luka Koper said in a statement on Monday.

The results achieved in 2023 are exceptional even in comparison with key car terminals in Europe like Valencia and Antwerp-Bruges, since Koper port recorded a higher throughput both in exports, especially to the Middle and Far East, and in imports, where the share of electric vehicles is increasing significantly, Luka Koper said.

"If we want to remain competitive in global maritime transport, we must strive for development-oriented projects. The priority is the construction of additional port capacities, especially for both strategic commodity groups," Luka Koper CEO Nevenka Krzan said in the statement.

The higher throughput figures in the automotive segment can also be attributed to the redirection of product flows, Luka Koper noted.

Last week, Luka Koper said it expects container throughput to amount to 1.061 million TEUs in 2023, up 4%, the transshipment of cars to reach 893,000 units, up 11%, while total maritime throughput is expected to stand at 22.1 million tonnes by the end of this year, down 5%.

Luka Koper broke its vehicle transshipment record in 2022, backed by the diversion of traffic from northern Europe. The port serviced 1.394 million units, up from 656,477 in 2021.