Port of Rotterdam becomes first European seaport to exceed 15 million TEUs

On December 22 , the Port of Rotterdam received its 15 millionth TEU container of 2021, making it the first European port to exceed 15 million TEUs .

The port reached 14.8 million TEUs in 2019 and had been moving steadily forward , but the outbreak caused a 3% drop in 2020 .

Although European ports, including Rotterdam , did not see as much cargo volume growth as ports on the West Coast of the United States , their cargo volumes also began to recover rapidly starting in the fall of 2020.

Citing the overall economic recovery, and particularly strong consumer spending, Rotterdam saw container volumes increase by almost 8% in the first nine months of 2021, while also overcoming challenges in the global supply chain.

Port officials said that " the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Suez Canal and Chinese ports this year has caused disruptions to seaport logistics, and the pressure on the logistics chain remains high." Many of the container ships that were stuck when the Suez Canal was blocked were bound for Rotterdam.

But Rotterdam has made great progress in clearing the backlog by working with major carriers, including Maersk and MSC, which announced they would realign services on two routes, one in Rotterdam and the other in Felixstowe, to help ease port congestion.

Although Rotterdam's total container volumes have increased , port officials also highlighted the current high prices and capacity constraints that are affecting operations. They said volumes are growing faster than tonnage, partly due to an increase in the number of blank ships passing through the port.

“ The sharp decline in average container weights has been caused by a sharp increase in shipping prices over the past few quarters , which has reduced the movement of relatively heavy, low-value cargo . ”

“Extreme congestion at Rotterdam container terminal is expected to continue temporarily until 2022 , as the international container fleet and terminal capacity are not growing at a pace commensurate with demand , ” said Johann Sebastian Schmidt, Commercial Director of the Port of Rotterdam Authority .

To support future operational growth, Rotterdam said it will continue to emphasize and encourage digitalization as well as the importance of collaboration and data sharing.

Port of Rotterdam

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1500

European seaport with 10,000 TEU