A question of capacity
JadeWeserPort has set the cat among the pigeons in Germany's container handling market
The challenge presented by maintaining the right level of port capacity is becoming more complicated.
Back in 2008 when the subject of port capacity came up it was nearly always in conjunction with the task of keeping pace with demand. Today this fact of life still applies in large parts of the developing world but in more mature markets, with reduced rates of economic growth, it is now often the complete opposite.
In Germany, for example, we can see concern expressed in the ports of Bremerhaven and Hamburg as to the competitive impact of the start-up of container terminal operations at the JadeWeser Port deepwater container terminal in Wilhelmshaven, scheduled to open for business in mid-2012.
Bremerhaven perhaps has most to lose as Maersk Line, a major customer in Bremerhaven, has also signed up to use Wilhelmshaven. Further, both Bremerhaven and Hamburg are having the necessity of their respective planned dredging schemes being called into question with Wilhelmshaven able to offer a deep water alternative. This was not something envisaged when the JadeWeser Port scheme was originally envisaged at a time of high demand.
Similarly, the capacity issue rumbles just beneath the surface in the UK in conjunction with DP World’s $1.5 billion London Gateway project on the River Thames.
DP World has made the commitment to undertake the “foundation works” for the project but were it to go any further in the near term then undoubtedly there would be an outcry from existing operators, other than DPW, as to the viability of such a move in the existing climate.
Spain is another European country with similar issues – along the Mediterranean coastline there are some major containerport expansion schemes, some too late to slow down, and which if allowed to flood the market with new capacity could have wide reaching detrimental implications.
The challenge in certain locations is no longer to keep pace with demand but to bring capacity onto the market in line with significantly reduced growth prospects and thus maintain market stability overall. A 180 degree turn!
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