By Peter de Langen
E-commerce had been growing impressively before COVID-19, with growth rates as much as 10 times higher than the growth of sales of physical stores.
COVID-19 has obviously accelerated that growth. Currently, around 20 per cent of all retail sales are online, with huge differences between commodities. For books the...
The UK, after claiming that the EU had been holding back the development of UK’s ports, launched a UK Freeports initiative as a major instrument to shape the UK’s economic development post-Brexit
by Peter de Langen
Up to 10 Freeports are foreseen. These Freeports are to be privately developed in rail, air and seaports -probably...
By Peter de Langen
The news from end of May 2020 that HHLA (Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG) and Eurogate are holding discussions on cooperating in the container segment in northern Germany, may well mark a turning point in the German Hanseatic port development tradition, comments Peter de Langen.
HHLA is the market leader in...
The move of DP World's parent company (Port and Free Zone World) to purchase shares traded on Nasdaq Dubai and delist the company is highly interesting, writes Peter de Langen, with his views first published in his Analyst column at @ Port Strategy.
The ownership of Port Operators
by Peter de Langen
"The move of DP World's parent...
By Peter de Langen
In drafting port policies and assessing the benefits of investments in port development, we often stress the link between better ports and export competitiveness
And indeed, various studies demonstrate there is a positive link between the two. Because of the diversity of exporters and export commodities, the...
By Peter de Langen
One of the best-known cases of port reform aimed to create intra-port competition is that of Buenos Aires, the largest port of Argentina
In the early 1990s, Buenos Aires was an inefficient state-run port. Cargo volumes fell between 1970 and 1990. The port tariffs increased by over 250% in real terms in a...
By Peter de Langen
The recent news that the Singapore sovereign wealth fund, Temasek, and the global freight forwarder, Kuehne + Nagel, will start a venture fund, to be based in Singapore and called Reefknot Investments, is the latest of various initiatives that have emerged over the recent years.
Some major other venture funds...
By Peter de Langen
In June 2019, the winners of the fourth edition of the African Ports Awards (APA) were announced in Lomé, Togo.
I had a small involvement as member of the Jury. The role of this Jury is minimal as the awards are based on performance data of the ports. There are different awards in different categories, all based...
By Peter de Langen
The societal impact of cruise vessels is increasingly under scrutiny, focused on the effects of cruise passengers on cruise cities and environmental effects of cruise ships.
The report on emissions by Transport & Environment is a case in point. This report is one more signal of an underlying trend of an...
By Peter de Langen
Rotterdam’s recent announcement that it is developing a 60-hectare ‘Food Hub’ at the entrance to Maasvlakte is interesting, both because of the concept and of the history of the site
The industrial site will be developed to offer optimal facilities for ‘agrofood’ companies and will have multiple...
