Ports must focus on cargo flow

摘要

It was one of the week's most forgettable headlines: 'Rotterdam's first-half throughput grows by 0.6%.' Crude up a bit, oil products down; coal higher, ore throughput stable. Even the ubiquitous container, which seems to represent most reporters' sole measure of success and failure, could manage only a meagre growth of 1.9% in terms of 20ft equivalent units. However, such is the size and scale of Europe's largest port that Rotterdam's views on future trends are always worth reading. More than Hamburg, Le Havre, or Felixstowe, Rotterdam plays a significant part in the Dutch economy as regards direct employment (about 150,000) and GDP (almost 4%).