The top 15 ports in Europe in BOX distribution

By Anastasia Vamvaka

In order to properly assess a port’s performance in the economy, a wide range of indicators are usually analyzed related to supply chain performance, productivity, connectivity, sustainability / energy transition, corporate social responsibility, financial performance, innovation, innovation and economic impact. However, the movement of container volume over time remains an important element, as cargo flows and related activities remain the mainstay of the port economy. The relevant graph shows the trends in container handling at TEU in 2021 for the top 15 container ports in the European Union, as well as the growth data for 2020-2021, 2019-2021 and 2007-2020. The year 2007 preceded the financial crisis of 2008-2009, while 2019 was the last year before the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of the Restrictive Measures.

As it turns out, the top 15 EU ports Together they managed 78 million TEUs in 2021, or 5% more than in 2020. The vast majority recorded positive growth rates in 2021. Looking at the top of the rankings, Rotterdam consolidated its position as Europe’s largest seaport in Europe. strong increase of 7.8%. Both Rotterdam and Aversa traded slightly more volumes in 2021 than in 2019 and significantly more commercial containers compared to 2007 (+ 42% and + 47%, respectively).

In 2019 the changes in the regular service schedules and the program of deepening and expansion of the Elbe supported the dynamics of the port of Ayburg. However, COVID-19 seems to have stopped this growth with a fall of 7.9% on an annual basis in 2020 and a slight growth of 2.2% last year. Aivurg’s box volume is still 5.9% lower than in 2019 before the coronavirus and even 11.9% below the record year of 2007, in stark contrast to the growth rates observed in Rotterdam and Aversa. The gap between Rotterdam and Aivurg now stands at around 6.6 million TEU, while Aversa manages 3.3 million TEU more than Aivurg. The top 3 ports in Europe handled 36 million TEU in 2021 (+ 3.2% compared to 2020 and + 0.3% compared to 2019).

The large transhipment cisterns of Piraeus, Algeciras and Gioia Tauro recorded a decline in container traffic in 2021. The rapid growth of the port of Piraeus has stopped in recent years, with an annual decline of 3.2% and 20% in 2020. Piraeus lost its 4th place in the ranking to Valencia, although the difference in the boxes remains small. The Spanish transhipment hub Algeciras also failed to maintain its position in the rankings, as the port feels the full impact of the intensified competition for transhipment cargo around the Straits of Gibraltar. While Barcelona, ​​Valencia and Cines handled more transhipment flows in 2021, Algeciras traffic fell 6.1%. The biggest winner in this transhipment area is Tanger Med in Morocco, with a growth of 24.3%, to reach 7.1 million TEU in 2021 (note that Tanger Med grew by 20% in 2020). Gioia Tauro’s Maritime transhipment in Italy saw strong growth in 2020, as Terminal Investment Limited (TiL) became the full owner of Medcenter Container Terminal (“MCT”) in Gioia Tauro, acquiring a 50% stake in Contship Italia in the summer of 2019. In 2021 the Gioia Tauro showed a slight drop of 1.5%.

Most ports at the bottom half of the list recorded double-digit growth. Strong growth in 2021 in Barcelona, ​​Le Havre, Marsaxlokk, Genoa and Gdansk offsets the huge traffic losses in 2020. Of all the ports in 10th and lower, only Genoa failed to maintain TEU capacity greater than 2019. However, the Genoa number excludes the nearby Vado Ligure facility, which is operated by the Port Authority itself. This new facility marked significant growth in 2021. The returns of Le Havre and Barcelona are quite impressive. In 2020, Le Havre was initially greatly affected by the French national strike in December 2019 and January 2020 and later experienced the full impact of the Asian Cargo Crash. In 2021, however, the French port strongly discouraged more airlines from choosing Le Havre, in part due to supply chain disruptions in other large ports in Northern Europe.

The sharp decline in Barcelona in 2020 was largely attributed to the collapse of transit traffic in the first half of 2020. Import / export container flows to the Catalan port were less affected. In 2021, Barcelona strengthened its position in the sea-to-sea transhipment market, while also receiving more gateways.

Zeebrugge and Sines close the top 15 in the standings. These ports already achieved strong performance in 2020 and further strengthened their positions in 2021. Zeebrugge volume in 2021 was 23.9% higher than its results in 2019, in part due to the strong performance of COSCO Shipping Ports terminal. The Portuguese port of Sines managed to do even better, with an impressive growth of 28.2% in two years.

Republished from the special edition of Forbes magazine “Poseidonia 2022”

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