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New study shows: European seaports are recovering well, making the efficiency of port infrastructure and hinterland connections the key to future growth and competitive positioning – port equipment manufacturers and railways benefit
SCI Verkehr GmbH has seized upon the importance of this growth driver in its new MultiClient Study “Port Infrastructure Markets in Europe” and analysed the current developments and upgrade projects at the 50 most important seaports in Europe. Profiles of the 25 most important manufacturers of port infrastructure complete the basis of assessment for present and future developments in the market for port infrastructure.
The recovery of the global economy has noticeably reached the ports in 2010: in the first half-year, Hamburg port reported growth in total throughput of around 8%, and Antwerp grew more than 12% on the same period of the previous year. Following a short breather due to the economic crisis, the efficiency of port infrastructure and port hinterland systems is increasingly moving back into the centre of the discussion – as a growth driver and a competitive factor.
In its latest MultiClient Study, SCI Verkehr analyses trends and competitive conditions in the European market for ship-to-shore container cranes, on-shore gantry cranes and bulk and general cargo cranes. The delivery figures for all crane categories dropped by an average of 25% between 2008 and 2009 with the economic downturn. However, SCI Verkehr expects procurement figures to increase considerably up to 2015 and anticipates an annual average growth rate of around 7% between 2010 and 2015. The highest growth rates are likely to be seen in the category of ship-to-shore container cranes and on-shore gantry cranes. A rise in throughput productivity at the seaports is affected by rising quantities of the cranes and likewise through an improved range of functions. Current procurements primarily concern container cranes, which have a lifting capacity for several standard containers at once.
The use of more productive container cranes increases the frequency in container throughput and thus the requirements on hinterland transport to cope with the higher transport volume. The hinterland connections on the North Sea ports, from Hamburg to Le Havre, face particularly large challenges. Measured by total tonnage in 2009, six of Europe’s ten largest seaports lie along this North Sea coast. These feed the main freight transport axes for shipments throughout Europe and also serve as transhipment ports for smaller Baltic Sea ports. New terminals are being built or existing ones upgraded at almost all of the North Sea ports at present. Around 30 km of new quays are going to be built in the next ten years.
The European railway market can benefit from this growth in particular: in a European comparison of the seaports, Hamburg, Bremen and Antwerp are already the three highest-volume suppliers for the European railway market. These contribute around 28% of all freight transported to or from the European seaports by rail. Part of their strategy is to further increase the railway’s share in port hinterland transport. |
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