That’s according to Rainer Marian, sales director for big trucks for the Europe, the Middle East and Africa region at manufacturer Hyster.
Speaking exclusively to Port Strategy at TOC Europe 2018, Mr Marian claimed that inland terminals have diversified from being “fairly concentrated on one type of product, mostly containers” to “handling a large number of types of goods”.
This diversification presents an opportunity to the industry in that it ultimately needs to find logistical solutions for the change, working with a different toolset.
“From our company’s perspective, a big opportunity lies in the fact that at the moment, the terminal operators are concentrating a lot into inland terminals,” Mr Marian said.
“Because of that, they are buying up land and expanding their activities from behind the ports into the hinterland.
“This is an opportunity that has resulted from a challenge that the industry is facing.”
Mr Marian also said that previously, the business of terminal operators’ stopped after the unloading of vessels, but customers now want more.
“They want service, if possible, all the way to the point of sale,” he said.