Landings at marine wharves increase

Despite an overall decline since the start of the century, the total volume of aggregates handled at rock wharves in Great Britain has gone up in the last year.

There has also been an increase in the number of operating rock wharves suggesting the sector is on the increase, reports BDS Marketing Research. These are some of the findings of a new sector report, published for the first time by BDS, entitled “Estimated landings of aggregates at rock wharves”.

“In the last two years, companies operating rock wharves have increased the volume of material handled by almost 10%” said Andy Sales, author of the report. “This is expected to increase further following the recent introduction of additional facilities.”

During the research, BDS reviewed more than 50 wharves to identify those being used to land crushed rock during 2016. A total of 18 facilities were identified which, between them, are estimated to have handled almost 3.5 million tonnes of aggregates during the year. (The report excludes marine-dredged sand and gravel which is detailed by BDS in a separate report.)

The majority of the rock wharves are in the south east and east of England, where there is limited indigenous supply. The main sources of the aggregates, which include high PSV stone, are coastal quarries and wharves in Scotland, Norway and Northern Ireland.

The on-going development of sea-borne deliveries provides a low-carbon route to
market, making it attractive to both the government and aggregates companies targeting reductions in carbon emissions.

The report estimates the volumes and market shares, of all of the companies operating rock wharves by county, region and nationally. It also includes comments on newly opened facilities as well as commenting on the planning perspective.