Northern Europe Global Port Tracker report offers a mixed outlook

Ocean container volumes in Northern Europe are seeing decent gains, coupled with anticipated growth throughout 2018, according to the most recent edition of the the Global Port Tracker report from maritime consultancy Hackett Associates and Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics. But at the same time, the report said that a fair amount of uncertainty and overcapacity remains.

Ports surveyed in North Europe Global Port Tracker report include the six major container reports in North Europe: le Havre, Antwerp, Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Bremen/Bremerhaven, and Hamburg.

The report indicated that total container volumes across the six ports increased by 1.1%, or 400,000 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) from December to January, the most recent month for which data is available, for a total of 3.59 million TEU, which it said would translate into a 5.9% annual increase.

Some of the report’s key takeaways included:

• Total imports to Europe increased by 0.6% in January, with a 2.1% gain in North Europe (down 2.6% annually) and a 1.7% dip in the Mediterranean and Black Sea region (up 5.3% annually);
• Total exports from Europe fell by 12.0% in January, with a 10.9%  fall in North Europe (down 4.6% annually) and a 13.8% decline in the Mediterranean-Black Sea region (up 4.0% annually);
• 2018 loaded incoming volumes across the North Range are projected to post a 5.7%  increase while loaded outgoing volumes are forecast to post a 4.4%  increase.
• 2018 total imports to Europe are forecasted to increase by 6.2%, with a 5.6% gain anticipated in North Europe and a 7.2%  increase projected in the Med-Black Sea region. Exports are forecast to increase by 5.8%  across Europe, with a 3.7% gain in North Europe and a 9.4% gain in the Mediterranean-Black Sea region

Even with a decent numbers over all, Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett wrote in the report that the recent tariff actions taken by the United States, in terms of its impact on the global shipping market, remains unclear.

“Excess capacity will get worse and freight rates will drop thereby reducing income,” he wrote. “Despite all the positive statements from carriers, [the global economic outlook is mixed]. If the trend is showing less capacity, why the price drop?”

What’s more, Hackett added that new services are sucking up the excess capacity, while explaining that the overcapacity situation remains fully intact with too many ships chasing too little cargo.

“It seems like the industry has completely forgotten the past and is repeating the same mistakes of earlier years,” stated Hackett.