Dublin Port Company has reported lower imports and exports for the first half of 2023.
Trade volumes were down 3.6% between January and the end of June.
The company said this was due to dampened international and domestic demand.
It said this was a result of the war in Ukraine, global inflation and a slower than expected recovery in China from the Covid-19 lockdown.
Imports fell by 3.6% to 10.8 million gross tonnes, while exports dropped by 3.5%, to 7.1 million gross tonnes.
"Lower international and domestic economic activity has seen our volumes slightly down in the first half of 2023," said Dublin Port's chief executive Barry O'Connell.
"This comes on the back of a very strong first half in 2022 where volumes increased by 10% versus 2021. The second half of 2022 was flat in terms of growth rates, so we are expecting modest positive growth in the second half of 2023 as markets recover," he added.
Mr O'Connell said a dip is not unusual, and reflects the "ebb and flow" of imports and exports.
"In the medium to long term, we still expect to see continued growth in volumes as the economy rebounds and consumer sentiment steadies," he said.
"As recently as June there was a 1.1% rise in exports, a notable shift from the average monthly decline of 4.4% over the preceding five months.
"This tallies with market and CSO commentary on Ireland's exit from a technical recession," he added.
Today's figures show that Dublin continues to outperform the all-island market in both Roll-On Roll-Off Service (Ro-Ro) and Lift-on/lift-off (Lo-Lo).
"With Dublin Port accounting for 80% of Ireland's containerised trade, 91% of UK trade and 68% of trade with mainland Europe, it remains a critical enabler of Ireland’s economy," Mr O'Connell said.
The latest figures show that imports of new trade vehicles rose by 40.3% to 67,000 units in the first six months of the year.
This rise is on the back of strong import figures in 2022 when volumes increased by 8.1% for the full year.
Bulk Liquid imports of petroleum products also continued to grow strongly, reaching 2.3 million gross tonnes matching the record levels achieved in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, passenger numbers on ferries increased by 13.6% to 758,454, while tourist vehicles reached 217,788 - up over 11%.
Mr O'Connell said providing capacity for future economic growth is a priority.
"I am pleased to say that the first of three expansion plans have been completed (ABR Project), the second is underway (MP2 Project) and the third and final development plan, the 3FM project, is at an advanced design stage and will be submitted later this year for planning," he added.
