Hackett Associates have revealed that The North Europe Global Port model of economic fundamental indicators all point to a lack of growth and many of them to a further decline in economic activity, all of which will reduce the volume of trade.<\/p>\n
Ben Hackett of Hackett Associates, said: \u201cIt is also probably due to the fact that globalization has reached an equilibrium whereby there are only a few industries still shifting sourcing and output to Asia.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis leaves the volume growth to follow consumption growth, added to this is the uncertainty still felt by the European consumers due to economic, political and security issues, all of which drive down demand. We do not see recovery in volumes nor in freight rates,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The forecast for the next six months projects a 4.1% decrease in total moves across the North Range while loaded containers are projected to decrease by 4.5%.<\/p>\n
Only the Port of Antwerp is recorded to have had a good year previously and maintain its strength in 2016. This is argued to be because it is not exposed to the collapse of the Russian trade volumes that has plagued other competitors.<\/p>\n