Figures from the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) show that the volume of cargo transported through ports across the country fell during the first half of 2008.
This was the first decline in shipping volumes for more than a decade as the slowdown in the economy took effect.
The IMDO is a state body which is charged with promoting Irish shipping and advising the Government on shipping policy.
The IMDO said the two main areas of container volumes fell, with load-on/load-off (lo/lo) traffic down 4%, while roll-on/roll-off traffic (ro/ro) dropping by 3%.
The traffic figures show that the volume of imports declined by 4%, with operators reporting a big drop in imports from China.
The IMDO says the cost of freight on most Asia-Europe routes has fallen as the supply of shipping has caught up with the rapid increase in demand from the region over the past few years.
'The mid-year shipping statistics appear to show a clear correlation with other recent trade data for which also indicated a reduction in the value of imports from China by 14%,' said the IMDO. It blamed weaker consumer sentiment and a fall-off in domestic consumption compounded by a slump in the housing market.
Elsewhere, the IMDO estimated that the bulk and breakbulk areas had suffered the largest overall declines of 8% over the year to June, mainly attributed to a fall-off in demand for construction related imports of steel, cement, timber and other building materials.
The IMDO said export volumes had fallen in the first quarter of this year, but had not fallen any further in the second quarter.
