The Port of Rotterdam becomes the first port in Europe with more than 15 million TEU in a single year, while on 22 December, the port’s Maasvlakte terminal welcomed the 19,224 TEU MSC Erica which handled Rotterdam’s 15 millionth TEU.
“This is a new European record for the port of Rotterdam. Never before has a European port transhipped so many containers in one year,” noted the port authority.
The Dutch city celebrated this event and the Erasmus Bridge was coloured blue and yellow, the colours of the Port of Rotterdam Authority. The observation tower Euromast was also coloured blue and an animation was projected onto the KPN Telecom’s building to highlight the container record.
“This achievement is all thanks to the flexibility and dedication of all the parties in the logistical container chain,” said the port in a statement.
During the first nine months of 2021, Europe’s busiest port has seen a year-on-year growth of 7.8% in container volumes, despite the earlier dip in transhipment containers due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Meanwhile, the economy is recovering with volumes higher than they were in 2019, while the consumer spending and demand boom, together with various disruptions earlier this year, such as the Suez blockage and outbreaks of coronavirus in Chinese ports, means that pressure on the logistics chain remains high.
In terms of TEU volume, transhipment grew faster than in terms of tonnage due to the increase in the transhipment of empty containers. However, the greatest impact could be attributed to a sharp decline in the average weight of full containers.
The transport of relatively heavy, low-value freight has decreased due to the notably increased prices over the past few quarters. This effect was most noticeable with export containers but it could also be seen on the import side.
Regarding 2022, Emile Hoogsteden, commercial director at the Port of Rotterdam Authority, stated that it is expected that extreme congestion at the Rotterdam container terminals will continue.
“This is because the international container ship fleet and terminal capacity are not growing at a rate commensurate with demand,” said Hoogsteden, who added, “the port authority will continue to emphasise the importance of digitisation, cooperation and data sharing to provide a better response to the global pressure on the logistics chain.”
