A.P. Moller-Maersk (Maersk) has opened a dedicated cross dock warehouse in Rotterdam at the Maasvlakte II terminal.
According to the Port of Rotterdam, the facility will greatly increase the flow of cargo from vessel arrival to the point of sale, particularly in the Benelux, German, and French hinterlands.
After unloading containers from an approaching vessel, the contents can be unpacked, transloaded onto conventional trucks, and delivered to their final destination within hours.
Maersk welcomed Starbucks as the first customer to the newly opened warehouse, which has a total area of 23,000 square metres, 120 docks, and interim storage space. At full capacity, the warehouse will provide over 200 new employees.
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The cross dock is located at Maersk’s terminal Maasvlakte II, in the middle of Europe’s largest port.
The terminal and cross dock have a direct internal road link. A large cold store warehouse at Maasvlakte II is reportedly being built for clients with temperature-sensitive cargo such as fresh vegetables, medicines, meat, fish, and other frozen goods.
It will feature 40,000 square metres of area and different temperature zones, with operations set to begin by the end of 2024.
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Maersk has set itself ambitious goals for decarbonising logistics on land, ocean and in the air with a net-zero target in 2040.
As a result, all new assets, from vessels to warehouses, are designed to emit very minimal levels of GHG emissions. The new cross dock was designed to the BREEAM Excellent environmental level.
It will also benefit from the adjacent cold storage facility. By reusing the leftover heat from the cold store at the Cross Dock, Maersk will save over 200,000 Kilowatt-hours of power each year.
In March, Maersk opened a new 30,000-square-metre facility in Tijuana, Mexico to facilitate cross-border trade.
