After reaching 28.4 million tonnes in 2023, including 18.7 Mt for import and 7 Mt for export, Nantes Saint-Nazaire GPM traffic fell below 26 million tonnes in 2024. A decline attributed in particular to a sharp drop in activity at the LNG terminal operated by Elengy in Montoir-de-Bretagne.
A 38% drop in LNG flows
After peaking at 9.9 million tonnes in 2022 (compared to 5.3 Mt in 2021), under the effect of the reconstitution of stocks following the outbreak of war in Ukraine and the cessation of Russian supplies by gas pipelines, natural gas trafficking liquefied liquid (LNG) fell sharply in the Loire estuary in 2024. Already reduced to 8.1 Mt in 2023, it only represented 5 Mt last year, a decline of 38%. “The activity of the Elengy LNG terminal was penalized by a technical shutdown lasting several months, during the period of replenishment of French stocks before the fall,” explains the port of Nantes Saint-Nazaire.
Crude oil and refined products on the rise
This drop could only be very partially offset by a 7% increase in crude oil imports intended for the TotalEnergies refinery in Donges. They reached 7.3 million tonnes in 2024, compared to 6.8 Mt in 2023 and 5.1 Mt in 2022. “The refinery returned to normal activity during the summer after a complete shutdown of the refining process between February and April, following a technical stop. Thus, the traffic of refined products experienced a relative increase in imports (+ 1%, 1.2 Mt) and more marked in exports (+ 16%, 3.9 Mt). TotalEnergies is also committing to the implementation, in 2025, of its Horizon project, relating to the creation of a fuel desulphurization unit.
Livestock feeding progresses, cereals decline
On the solid bulk side, the main current in this category, namely imports of products intended for animal feed (cakes and seeds), performed well in 2024, with a total of 2.3 Mt, an increase of 10%, after 5% in 2023 and 1% in 2022. “Investments by the operator MBT have made it possible to make the terminal more reliable and improve its operational performance. Despite a tense international context, the crushing activities of Cargill factories remain strong. At the same time, Cargill is investing significantly to decarbonize the production process of its two factories through its Cocorico project,” notes the GPMNSN.
Cereal exports, on the other hand, fell, with 500,000 tonnes processed last year, or 200,000 tonnes less than in 2023 (-20%), far from the prosperous year that 2022 had been (1.2 Mt ). A poor result which can be explained by a low harvest and a very competitive international market.
Difficulties in the construction sector affect construction materials
As for bulk goods linked to the construction sector, they are logically impacted by the significant drop in the number of real estate projects launched in France. While sea sand traffic manages to remain stable compared to 2023 (1.3 Mt), clinker and cement flows have increased from 400,000 to 300,000 tonnes. As for recycling scrap metal, exported from the Nantes and Montoir sites, mainly destined for steelworks in Spain and Turkey, faced unfavorable prices, ending 2024 with a drop of 12% to 300,000 tonnes.
Containers: new lines to compensate for the drop in activity
The year was also not good for the Montoir de Bretagne general cargo and container terminal. Containers recorded a decline of 11% in tonnage (1.4 Mt) and 13% in number of boxes, i.e. around 133,000 processed in 2024 compared to 152,776 in 2023. According to the GPMNSN: “This drop is more particularly marked on the lines to destination of the Antilles and West Africa. Faced with the decline in these activities, the port collective is undertaking several projects to develop maritime services including a direct connection from Turkey, proposed by CMA CGM, offering a feedering solution for import flows in transshipment in Tangier.
Ro-Ro: a sector in decline but positive notes
In terms of ro-ro traffic, the year also ended on a downward trend: “2024 marks a decline in activities at the Montoir de Bretagne ro-ro terminal. Vehicle flows from Morocco and Spain are declining by 15%, due to the contraction of the new vehicle market linked to less favorable financing conditions for purchases. However, we note the anchoring of a new manufacturer on the terminal with the Volkswagen group. With 9,500 units, trailer traffic remained stable, particularly for the export of automobile parts and the import of construction materials,” underlines the port. In addition, despite supply issues having slowed the growth of Airbus’ activity, the flow of aeronautical components increased by 3% in 2024. The Loire port benefits in particular from the ramp-up of the assembly line. of A320 and A321 airliners in the United States, for which Montoir serves as a logistics hub for parts produced in Europe and transported via regular rotations between the Loire estuary and Mobile, Alabama, where the Airbus factory is located.
The sustained workload of the shipyards generates benefits for the port
Finally, the GPM notes that “the activity of the Saint-Nazaire port facilities remains sustained, driven by local industrial dynamics, particularly by shipbuilding”. The Chantiers de l’Atlantique, which is running at full capacity, generates not only merchandise traffic, with deliveries of steel, metal structures and equipment, but also numerous port movements. These benefit the GPM and the various services, such as pilotage, mooring and towing. In the same way, after the Saint-Nazaire wind farm, commissioned at the end of 2022, the port will fully benefit, this year, from the construction work on the field installed off the islands of Yeu and Noirmoutier.
Saint-Nazaire once again becomes a logistics hub for wind power
The Joubert shape and Nazairian basins area serves, once again, as a logistics hub for the delivery and pre-assembly of wind turbine components, before their embarkation on an installation vessel. The first unloading of blades intended for the Yeu-Noirmoutier park took place in December. This project will also generate traffic of 60,000 tonnes of riprap to support and protect the underwater electrical cables. The public debate on the EOLE project, which aims in particular to create between the Chantiers de l’Atlantique and the Joubert shape a vast hub dedicated to large floating wind turbines, was also completed at the end of 2024.
Energy transition
This involves continuing the diversification of the port towards industrial activities and ecological transition, in order to anticipate the decline in traffic linked to fossil fuels. With the disappearance of coal flows, EDF having confirmed in September 2024 its intention to stop production at the Cordemais thermal power station in 2027. Coal could previously generate traffic of 1.5 to 2 Mt. As for LNG, considered as a transitional energy, it will be necessary to see what impact the new sanctions decided by the European Union against Russian gas will have in 2025. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, imports of LNG from Russia have in fact continued, including with transshipments in European ports, such as Montoir, of cargoes coming from the Siberian site of Yamal via ice-breaking LNG carriers at on board conventional LNG carriers to be reshipped. But from March 2025, these operations, considered by the EU as re-exports economically benefiting the Russian war effort, will be prohibited.
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