Continuing Growth in Container throughput and Digitisation Strengthen Port

Container throughput continues to grow in Rotterdam. Following a record year in 2018 and a record quarter in 2019, April of this year was the best month ever for the Port of Rotterdam. 13.6 million tonnes of container freight was handled in April 2019. The previous record month was August 2018 (13.2 million tonnes). Measured in TEU, the standard unit for containers, April 2019 was the second-best month ever, with 1.3 million TEU, just a fraction lower than the record month of August 2018.

Rotterdam has expanded to become Europe’s largest container port, partly because of its excellent depth. The Port of Rotterdam Authority is excellently placed to accommodate further expansion in this growth market because:  there is sufficient available capacity at the deep-sea terminals;  the port has good hinterland connections via inland shipping, road and rail;

we are making considerable investments in the physical infrastructure, such as the Container Exchange Route, which enables faster and more cost-efficient exchange of containers between the terminals;  The Port of Rotterdam Authority is leading in the digital infrastructure with logistics solutions such as Pronto, Navigate, Nextlogic, OnTrack, Box Insider and Deliver. No other port has such a complete digital toolbox as Rotterdam.

The Port of Rotterdam Authority is participating in the 2019 Transport & Logistics trade fair in Munich from 4 to 7 June. Digital transformation of port and logistics will be an important ‘selling point’ there for the Port of Rotterdam Authority. We want to create a global network of smart connected ports. 

< Korea Shipping Gazette >