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PortEconomics
  • October 3rd, 2025
PortEconomics
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  • PortStudies
    Investments and financing challenges of the EU’s port managing bodies; findings from a comprehensive survey

    Investments and financing challenges of the EU’s port managing bodies; findings from a comprehensive survey

    Evaluating customer satisfaction with clearing and forwarding agents:  Kuwait Shuwaikh Port

    Evaluating customer satisfaction with clearing and forwarding agents: Kuwait Shuwaikh Port

    Digital technologies for efficient and resilient sea-land logistics

    Digital technologies for efficient and resilient sea-land logistics

    Stakeholders’ attitudes toward container terminal automation

    Stakeholders’ attitudes toward container terminal automation

    Toward green container liner shipping: joint optimization of heterogeneous fleet deployment, speed optimization, and fuel bunkering

    Toward green container liner shipping: joint optimization of heterogeneous fleet deployment, speed optimization, and fuel bunkering

  • Presentations
    Port reform: World Bank publishes the third edition of its port reform toolkit

    Port reform: World Bank publishes the third edition of its port reform toolkit

    When will we admit that maritime transport will not be decarbonised by 2050?

    When will we admit that maritime transport will not be decarbonised by 2050?

    Digital technologies for efficient and resilient sea-land logistics

    Digital technologies for efficient and resilient sea-land logistics

    The World Ports Tracker in TOC Europe

    The World Ports Tracker in TOC Europe

    Newly-upgraded IAPH World Ports Tracker identifies major sustainability and market trends

    Newly-upgraded IAPH World Ports Tracker identifies major sustainability and market trends

  • Noticeboard
    Portgraphic: Top-15 EU container ports in H1 2025

    Portgraphic: Top-15 EU container ports in H1 2025

    PhD posts in the area of ports and energy transition

    PhD posts in the area of ports and energy transition

    PortEconomics members among best-performing scholars globally

    PortEconomics members among best-performing scholars globally

    Accessibility or connectivity: why is it correct to say that in the Caribbean the main logistics problem is connectivity?

    Accessibility or connectivity: why is it correct to say that in the Caribbean the main logistics problem is connectivity?

    Cruise Port-City Compass

    Cruise Port-City Compass

  • Viewpoints
    Portgraphic: Top-15 EU container ports in H1 2025

    Portgraphic: Top-15 EU container ports in H1 2025

    Portgraphic: fleet capacity (owned/chartered) of container shipping lines

    Portgraphic: fleet capacity (owned/chartered) of container shipping lines

    In a tight spot: American ports in global supply chains

    In a tight spot: American ports in global supply chains

    Cruise industry in 2025 at a glance

    Cruise industry in 2025 at a glance

    The box that makes the world go around: container terminals and global trade

    The box that makes the world go around: container terminals and global trade

  • PortLibrary
  • PortReport

Theo Notteboom

Dr. Theo Notteboom is co-founder and co-director of PortEconomics. He is a professor in port and maritime economics and management with about 25 years of experience in this area. His work is widely cited. He is a regular speaker at international conferences and a rapporteur/expert to leading organizations in the field. He is Chair Professor at Ghent University in Belgium. He is a visiting Research Professor at China Institute of FTZ Supply Chain of Shanghai Maritime University. He also is part-time Professor at University of Antwerp and the Antwerp Maritime Academy in Belgium. He previously held a full-time position as High-end Foreign Expert / Professor at Dalian Maritime University in China (2014-2016) and an MPA visiting professorship in port management at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. He is immediate past President (2010-2014) and Council Member of International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME). Between October 2006 and October 2014 he was President of ITMMA of the University of Antwerp. Between 2009 and 2014 he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Belgian Institute of Transport Organizers (BITO), an institute of the Belgian Federal Government.

Author's Posts

Port authorities willingness to cooperate: effects of objective orientation & service differentiation

Port authorities willingness to cooperate: effects of objective orientation & service differentiation

Featured
Portgraphic: top-20 EU container ports, q1 2018 Containers

Portgraphic: top-20 EU container ports, q1 2018

By Theo Notteboom The PortGraphic shows the container throughput growth for Q1 2018 in the top 20 EU container ports. Not all ports have published figures for Q1 2018 yet. Most ports show healthy growth with many ports reaching double-digit growth. Top performers include Gdansk (+47%!), Piraeus, Barcelona & Zeebrugge....
What makes a competitive hub in a interconnected world? Containers

What makes a competitive hub in a interconnected world?

An introductory presentation on the theme "What makes a competitive hub?" gave PortEconomics co-director Theo Notteboom during the World Ports Conference of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) which was held in Baku, Azerbaijan from 8 to 11 May 2018. Theo moderated also the panel debate on the same theme during...
PortGraphic: Top-15 countries with the highest container handling density Containers

PortGraphic: Top-15 countries with the highest container handling density

By Theo Notteboom The graph shows the annual container volume handled by a country’s port system per km of coastline. Belgium takes the no. 1 spot closely followed by Singapore. The list contains some other smaller nations with big container ports such as the Netherlands and Malta. The Belgian case is a bit special given that...
PortGraphic: european container port traffic gains and losses, 2007-2017 Containers

PortGraphic: european container port traffic gains and losses, 2007-2017

By Theo Notteboom The portgraphic shows the changes in container throughput in European ports between pre-crisis year 2007 and last year. We use absolute growth figures in TEU. The total container throughput in the entire European container port system increased by some 17 million TEU between 2007 and 2017, but not all ports saw...
PortGraphic: the top 15 container ports in Europe in 2017 Category

PortGraphic: the top 15 container ports in Europe in 2017

By Theo Notteboom The cargo volume handled remains a key performance indicator for ports. While also other indicators related to logistics performance, sustainability, innovation and economic impact are gaining ground, it remains relevant to observe how cargo volumes have evolved over time. The table shows the top 15 container...
PortGraphic: towards a “Rotterdamisation” of the european container port system? Containers

PortGraphic: towards a “Rotterdamisation” of the european container port system?

By Theo Notteboom Last week, the Rotterdam Port Authority presented the port’s cargo throughput figures for 2017. With a 10.9% y-o-y growth, the Dutch port handled 13.73 million TEU in 2017. The strong results in 2017 reinforced Rotterdam’s position as the largest European container port, followed by Antwerp (10.45 million in...
The Nicaragua canal project revisited Featured

The Nicaragua canal project revisited

The construction of an interoceanic canal in Nicaragua is a longstanding controversy that goes back to the late 19th century when the US had plans to construct the canal but in the end decided to develop the Panama Canal instead. The plans for the construction of the Nicaragua Canal have resurfaced in recent years. In September 2012, a...
The Rhine-Scheldt delta: the no 1 logistics hub in Europe Containers

The Rhine-Scheldt delta: the no 1 logistics hub in Europe

By Theo Notteboom The very recent merger between the port of Ghent in Belgium and Zeeland Seaports in the Netherlands has an impact of the position of the Rhine-Scheldt Delta port system in Europe. The Delta now counts no less than 4 of the 10 largest ports in Europe in terms of total port throughput in metric tons The Delta now...
Evolution of container throughput in European ports between 1985-2016 Containers

Evolution of container throughput in European ports between 1985-2016

By Theo Notteboom A look at the changing container port volume 'skyline' in Europe. The movie shows the evolution of the TEU volumes between 1985 and 2016. You can see the sheer size of north European container ports (Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg, etc.), the recent rise of new container hubs (Piraeus, Gdansk, Sines, etc.), the...
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Weekly Timeline
Oct 2nd 12:27 PM
Thematic Area

Portgraphic: Top-15 EU container ports in H1 2025

Sep 18th 3:40 PM
Thematic Area

Portgraphic: fleet capacity (owned/chartered) of container shipping lines

Sep 12th 3:48 PM
Thematic Area

Investments and financing challenges of the EU’s port managing bodies; findings from a comprehensive survey

Aug 12th 2:18 PM
Thematic Area

Port reform: World Bank publishes the third edition of its port reform toolkit

Jul 21st 11:51 AM
Thematic Area

Evaluating customer satisfaction with clearing and forwarding agents: Kuwait Shuwaikh Port

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