Terminal alliances may be set for a rise but they are slow to gain traction and face numerous challenges, Drewry has warned.

Marseille Fos Port Authority and Quechen Silicon Chemical have signed a construction agreement for the Chinese company’s €105m project to build a plant on a 12-hectare site in the Fos industrial zone, adding to speculation about China’s growing influence in Europe.

As Italy prepares to be the first G7 country to sign a Belt and Road initiative MOU with China, a port analyst has questioned whether Chinese investment will distort the ports market.

Hong Kong has "long been a prime candidate" for a terminal alliance, Drewry’s senior analyst for Ports & Terminals has said following the formation of the Hong Kong Seaport Alliance.

Ports will have to deal with more cascading loops with implications including a need for more berth space, Drewry has said.

Khalifa Bin Salman Port (KBSP) operator APM Terminals Bahrain’s BHD 11.8m decision to make an initial public offering (IPO) of 18,000,000 of its shares is a timely money making and investment opportunity, says Drewry’s senior analyst - Ports & Terminals.

Underinvestment and cautious investor sentiment towards greenfield projects is partly to blame for container terminal capacity expansion falling to not much more than 10% of existing capacity in the next five years, the lowest proportion ever.

There are relatively few greenfield projects currently in the ports sector compared to the past, despite there now being a larger market for them, Drewry has said.

DP World’s acquisition of European short-sea and feeder carrier Unifeeder is unprecedented in scale and naturally throws up questions about the company’s motivation, Drewry has stated.

Tariff and trade wars are a concern but the medium-term outlook for global container port demand growth is positive thanks to strong underlying economic momentum across the world’s major economies, according to Drewry.

An “inevitable” trade war between China and the US will refocus world trade and move shipping towards South and Southeast Asia ports, according to a Drewry official.

The global container port traffic growth rate continues to exceed 6% and terminal mergers and acquisitions offer the best potential to thrive in the current container ports and terminal market.

Drewry’s latest five-year global container port demand forecast is 4.3% per annum, up from last year.

Substantial potential exists for retrofit terminal automation, Drewry’s March 2018 Quarterly Port Sector Report Briefing shows.

It isn’t the size of your port that matters – it’s what you do with it. Felicity Landon reports on a new ‘connectivity index’

As much as 5m teu of waste could become landfill under China’s sudden decision to impose more stringent quality thresholds on different waste imports, dramatically changing seaborne trade patterns.

Shanghai has come out top in a new Drewry index ranking the connectedness of the world's container ports.

Yemen’s ports of Hodeidah and Saleef have been left in limbo following a UN order for commercial ships to leave.

August’s Drewry global container port throughput index reached an all-time high of 126.8 points.

Overcapacity, politics and the price of oil are set to collide in the Middle East, writes Stevie Knight.