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Americas 1H2023: Is port activity accelerating or decelerating?
By Ricarod J Sanchez The world economy continues to show signs, sometimes contradictory, of both recovery and decline, which extend over time. Uncertainty and volatility have become part of normalcy because of a succession of crises. The pandemic crisis was a human, social and economic scourge of enormous magnitude at a planetary level, and its effects have yet to disappear completely. Moreover, the health emergency was compounded by the intensity of climate phenomena -such as the recent droughts-, the growing geopolitical tensions,...
Containers
Top-20 container ports in the Caribbean in 2022
By Ricardo Sanchez The following chart shows the evolution of Top-20 container ports between 2021 and 2022. Sources: CSA and port authorities. The top-20 sample is approximately 82% of the container ports activity in the Greater Caribbean, excluding Mexico. The year 2022 shows an extremely slight growth of the top 20 Caribbean ports regarding 2021 (just 0.2%), with some ports strongly increasing (Panama Caribbean, Kingston JA, Caucedo RD, Honduras and T&T) and others with soft to sharped declines. In 2022, the top 20 ports...
Containers
Top-15 container ports in European Union in 2022
PortEconomics co-director Theo Notteboom compiled a list of the top 15 container ports in the European Union (EU) in 2022 based on the container throughput in TEU and analyses the findings. "While the ranking of the top 15 container ports in the European Union (EU) in 2022 based on the container throughput in TEU might be a mere distraction from other major port-related themes such as sustainability, energy transition, and supply chain resilience, the table provides more insight on the EU container port landscape: The...
Containers
Port Connectivity; Piraeus in the global sea transport network
By George Vaggelas and Thanos Pallis Τhe recent released data regarding the container throughput at the biggest Greek port, showed a decrease in the container volumes by almost 2,7% mainly due to the global economic environment. In many countries the trade has been severely impacted by the economic conditions which are characterized by increased inflation, reduction in consumption and disturbance in the supply-demand relationship. Despite the economic environment and the reduction in the container throughput, the port of Piraeus...
Containers
Operational productivity and financial performance: pure transhipment hubs vs gateway terminals
The sea–sea transhipment of containers between vessels has become a key part of the container handling activities in the global maritime shipping network constituting 25.8% of the worldwide container port throughput in 2017 (Drewry Shipping Consultants, 2018). Since the 1990s, the global port system has seen the development of pure transhipment hubs close to interoceanic passages (Straits of Malacca, Suez Canal, Panama Canal, etc.) and port sites at other strategic maritime locations. Some regional markets, such as the Mediterranean...
Containers
The 2M breakup; (how) will it affect ports?
Comment by PortEconomics member Peter de Langen: The 2M breakup in 2025, announced recently, came a bit as a surprise, though especially Maersk portrays it as a logical consequence of their integrator strategy. This integrator strategy implies a focus on providing a larger bundle of services than just shipping. As a consequence, Maersk needs to control its operations to be able to offer reliability and being able to adjust to disruptions that may emerge. Maersk has been able to grow their integrator volumes substantially the last few...
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The future of alliances: impediments for liners involved
"MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company and A.P. Moller - Maersk announced they have mutually agreed to discontinue the 2M alliance, set to end in January 2025. This implies that the 10-year agreement which was signed in 2015 will not be extended. In a presentation on the future of #alliances in container shipping delivered on May 10, 2022, during the FIATA International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations "Market Structure and Maritime Competition" Webinar Series, PortEconomics co-director Theo Notteboom already...
Containers
Logistics integration strategies in container shipping: a multiple case-study on Maersk Line, MSC and CMA CGM
Shipping lines have recently been reshaping their operations to include more logistics integration, which could indicate a change in business strategy. The latest paper of PortEconomics member Theo Notteboom and Hubert Paridaens (Antwerp Maritime Academy) analyses recent developments in the strategic paths of Maersk Line, CMA CGM and MSC in the context of logistics integration and presents empirical findings on their strategic positions and associated drivers. By applying a conceptual framework highlighting and exploring various key strategic,...
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