“We forecast that this year, throughput will reach 440,000 cars. Apart from organic growth from existing clients, we have also added significant new flows from both Fiat and Alfa Romeo,” he says.

CMP decision to break into the highly competitive new vehicles market was based on a number of important assets: availability of land, the strategic location of Malmö to the Baltic region and the Øresund bridge connecting Denmark and Sweden. These factors, says Mr Steijaert, prompted Toyota to establish its Nordic hub in Malmö, which in turn has resulted in the fastest growing volume of cars passing through Malmö. He remains confident that CMP could take on this role for other manufacturers, too.

“Our natural hinterland is Scandinavia and the Baltic region. From Malmö, direct retail delivery could be undertaken to the whole of Scandinavia by either truck or train. We expect to see business to this region grow, while our transhipment business to destinations in the Baltic should also increase over the coming years.”

According to Mr Steijaert, service and price levels are competitive with other regional ports. CMP is also developing land to keep up with customer demand. Currently, 100,000 sq m of land is under development and should come on stream early next year. Additional possibilities also exist to further expand car handling areas if needed.

“Being able to add value is vital in attracting new customers,” says Mr Steijaert, “In fact, the significant advantage that Malmö has is that it offers a single port operating area with three independent service providers.”