With a focus on capacity expansion and terminal productivity, ports are expected to dominate container shipping strategies.
The Journal of Commerce reported Trevor Crowe, director of Clarkson Research Services as saying that the port industry now must meet the increased demand by either boosting productivity or adding more capacity, following an under investment since the 2008-2009 financial crisis.
Mr Crowe said: “Ports are coming back to the centre, as they strive to keep pace with the growth in ocean container volumes.”
Neil Davidson, senior ports and terminals analyst at Drewry Shipping Consultants believes that, due to the deployment of larger container vessels, ports on the North-South trades are facing a major change.
North-South ship sizes have increased by between 120% and 160%, respectively.
In contrast, Asia-Europe ship sizes have increased by 70% and the Transatlantic by 30%.
An aerial shot of the Port of Hamburg. (Source: Hafen Hamburg)
