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Container throughput at Rotterdam and Antwerp-Bruges: A growing rivalry
Theo Notteboom, PortEconomics co-director, analyses the evolution of container throughput at Rotterdam and Antwerp-Bruges over the past five decades and reveals a significant shift in European port dynamics. While Rotterdam has historically been the dominant container hub, Antwerp-Bruges has steadily increased its share, now nearly matching Rotterdam’s volume. As Theo Notteboom analyses: "The ports of Rotterdam (NL) and Antwerp-Bruges (BE) are situated in the Rhine-Scheldt Delta, the most significant multi-port region in Europe in terms...
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Top-15 EU container ports in 2024: strong growth despite geopolitcal tensions
The 2024 ranking of the top 15 EU container ports highlights both stability on the top of the ranking and significant changes in port performance for the remaining ports. Rotterdam retains its position as Europe’s largest container port, handling 13.82 million TEUs, followed closely by Antwerp-Bruges at 13.53 million TEUs. Hamburg remains in third place with 7.8 million TEUs, while Valencia moves up to fourth place, benefiting from strong 14.2% growth. Following, the graphic below presents the ranking of the top 15 EU container...
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A systemic analysis of container terminal layouts
PortEconomics member Jean-Paul Rodrigue latest portstudy provides a systemic analysis of the layout characteristics of a geodatabase comprised of a large sample of 331 global container terminals. Despite the propensity towards terminal standardization that can be expected from containerization, container terminals demonstrate a substantial diversity in measurable attributes such as perimeter, terminal surface, yard surface, and berth length. This is mainly attributed to site characteristics constraining terminal design and operations with...
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Sustainability, externalities, and ocean grabbing: addressing challenges in maritime transport
Due to the strategic role of the maritime sector in the world economy, attention should be paid to the changing context in which its activity is carried out. Global shocks, such as COVID-19, or those more specific, such as Brexit, the recent armed conflicts in Ukraine or the Middle East, the growing insecurity in the Red Sea, or extreme natural phenomena resulting from climate change, add to new trends related to the transition towards environmental concerns, the technological revolution, financial swings, trade wars, changes in consumer...
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The impact of port service quality on customer satisfaction: the case of clearing and forwarding agents in Kuwait Shuwaikh Port
The latest portstudy of PortEconomics co-director Theo Notteboom with Ahmed Alsalfiti (University of Antwerp), published in the Maritime Business Review, identifies the factors influencing the satisfaction of clearing and forwarding (C&F) agents in Shuwaikh Port, Kuwait, based on port service quality (PSQ). The research is based on the ROPMIS model to study PSQ. This research adds value to PSQ studies and the need to explore this concept further in the context of Kuwait Shuwaikh port. Data were collected from 49 C&F agents...
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GREPORT2024: Report on Greek Ports
PortEconomics membes George Vaggelas and Thanos Pallis have published the 2024 edition of the Report on Greek Ports-GREPORT 2024. The 5th edition of the report that is publised since 2016 every two years contains data and analysis of the Greek port system. In the several sections of the report, the reader will find analysis on➡️ Cargo throughput and passenger/cruise traffic evolution - with details of short and long term trends.➡️ Investments, per port and aggregate trends➡️ Financial Analysis of the 13 Ports Operating as...
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Singapore stuck between a shipping hub and a hard place
by Jean-Paul Rodrigue Despite facing growing competition and uncertainty due to geopolitical events, Singapore has maintained its prominence in maritime shipping, with its status as a primary transshipment hub evident in its sizeable port activity. The 2023 Red Sea crisis resulted in a temporary surge in Singapore's traffic, but also underlined its vulnerability to geopolitical events. Though its future prospects remain solid, particularly with its geographical advantages and the development of the Tuas mega container port, the...
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PortGraphic: Top-15 container ports in the EU, Jan-Sep 2024
By Theo Notteboom The top 15 EU container ports are strongly recovering in the period from January to September 2024 after a challenging 2023: While 2023 was characterized by a strong to moderate traffic decline in most ports, the first nine months of 2024 brought double-digit growth in 6 of the top 15 ports. The effects of the Red Sea crisis and the associated shipping network modifications continue to be traceable in the West Med and the Atlantic coast with Sines, Barcelona, and Valencia all recording robust growth. Also Gioia...
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