Igor van den Essen
Chief Executive, Africa & Europe APM Terminals
A container terminal can handle more cargo than ever before and still leave its customers waiting. Larger vessels and more efficient shipping networks have transformed how goods move across oceans. But the roads, railways and inland connections behind many ports have not kept pace.
For much of the past 15 years, investment in landside infrastructure has lagged behind the changing demands of trade. That gap was easier to manage when there was room in the system. This year, geopolitical disruption, shifting trade routes and resilient cargo demand have exposed it.
A port’s capacity and the capacity of the supply chain it serves are two different numbers.
The challenge looks different depending on where you stand. Europe’s Northern Range ports handled around 46 million TEU last year at almost 100% utilisation, and will need room for at least 53 million TEU by 2030 and 62 million by 2035. Across Africa, some gateways need entirely new capacity to support growing economies, while others need to make better use of what they already have. (....)