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Seaborne trade has brought prosperity. How to ensure its sustainability
By Jan Hoffman Chief, Trade Logistics Branch, DTL, UNCTAD (Note: The blog is reproduced from Global Maritime Forum. This blog post benefits from half a century of data and analysis of UNCTAD colleagues, reported in UNCTAD’s Review of Maritime Transport RMT since 1968. See http://unctad.org/RMT. The 50th anniversary issue of the RMT will be launched at the GMF on 4 October in Hong Kong. The views expressed in this Insight are those of the author alone) Shipping and seaports are at the forefront of globalization. This...
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The Analyst: battle of hinterland expansion
By Peter de Langen Many port development companies, including port authorities, develop commercial strategies which guide their commercial and investment activities. One common ambition in those strategies is the aim to expand the hinterland The Port of Algeciras aims to serve the Madrid metro area, where Valencia is currently dominant; Rotterdam and Antwerp aim to improve competitiveness in Bavaria, where German ports, especially Hamburg, are dominant; and various US East Coast ports aim to expand their hinterland to destinations such...
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¿Quo vadis América Latina?: the triple "E"-evolution, strategies & expectations (in Spanish)
¿Quo vadis América Latina? by Gordon Wilmsmeier El sector marítimo y portuario está experimentando cambios profundos en su organización (concentración de la oferta, alianzas estratégicas, integración vertical entre operadores de terminales y navieras) y tecnología (mayor oferta de capacidad de buques y puertos, automatización y electrificación de terminales portuarias, mayor eficiencia en propulsión de buques, etc.). Estos cambios son globales y ya han comenzado a llegar a nuestra región. ¿Los actores públicos,...
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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 2017, a growth of 4.1%), Hamburg (8.82 million TEU, -1%), Bremerhaven (5.54 million TEU, +0.9%) and Valencia (4.83 Million TEU, +2.3%). With a 10.9% y-o-y growth, the Dutch port handled 13.73 million TEU in...
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Mapping the globe: the patterns of megaships
PortEconomics member Cesar Ducruet - along with Justin Berli (CNRS) - address the distribution of the largest containerships across the globe, and build a picture of the global network has been published in the PortEconomics partner in publishing magazine Port Technology International. Many issues have been raised since the advent of socalled ‘mega-ships’, ranging from port capacity issues, competitiveness, shipping alliances, and technological change, but the precise geography of their circulation had remained somewhat overlooked...
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The Analyst: realities of 'working waterfront' visions
By Peter de Langen The inevitable is likely to happen to the Red Hook Container Terminal in Brooklyn, New York After decades of policy to keep the terminal open to ensure that Brooklyn continues to have a blue collar ‘working waterfront’, the only container terminal in the state of New York may finally close down and give way to the development of urban functions. The state governor Andrew Cuomo has suggested a “more productive community use” for the approximately 80 acres of waterfront land. Even though the announcement...
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The Analyst: safe as houses
By Peter de Langen In November, Associated British Ports (ABP), the UK’s leading port operator, launched its transformed property arm with a 960-hectare land bank, marking a further step in the gradual transition of the group from port operator to a development company of port, logistics and manufacturing complexes in 21 UK ports, writes Peter de Langen. ABP owns around 5,000 hectares of land, of which around 900 hectares is available for development. In its 2017 first half year trading update, ABP noted that it aims to build a...
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St. Lawrence: Time for a dual container port strategy?
By Jean-Paul Rodrigue The St. Lawrence, as a gateway to Eastern Canada, is contemplating an emerging risk in the Post Panamax context, which is undermining its commercial viability for containerized maritime shipping. The Port of Quebec handled containers in the early stages of containerization, but by the late 1970s all this traffic shifted to Montreal because of its notable market advantage and excellent connectivity to the Ontario and Midwest hinterland. However, technical changes in containership sizes are gradually challenging...
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