The Analyst

THE VOLUME: REVENUE RELATIONSHIP
2021-09-01T14:15:00+01:00
COMMENT: One might think that the revenues of port development companies (PDCs) are primarily driven by the volumes handled in the port, writes Peter de Langen.
THE UNEVEN COMMERCIAL POWER RELATIONSHIP
2021-07-03T21:19:00+01:00
COMMENT: For all the right reasons, a lot of attention among port developers, policy makers and regulators is focused on the competition in the terminal and shipping markets and risks of the emergence of dominant positions, for instance due to vertical integration, writes Peter de Langen.
EMERGING GLOBAL MARKET FOR STORING AND UTILISING CARBON
2021-06-22T17:14:00+01:00
COMMENT: A stream of recent announcements suggests that a global market for storing and utilising carbon is emerging, writes Peter de Langen.
UNCONVENTIONAL STEPS TO COMBAT CRIME?
2021-05-24T09:00:00+01:00
Drug crime has been present in ports for centuries and is unlikely to ever go away, writes Peter de Langen.
THE LOCALISATION TREND AND THE IMPACT ON PORTS
2021-04-16T16:23:00+01:00
COMMENT: Maritime freight flows are the result of past supply chain design choices - if companies design global supply chains this results in global freight flows, writes Peter de Langen.
FURTHER STEPS NEEDED FOR NEW MERGER
2021-03-22T13:45:00+00:00
COMMENT: On goes the wave of mergers of port development companies, this time between the ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge, writes Peter de Langen.

A STRATEGIC PLAN: TICKS THE BOXES BUT RADICAL ENOUGH?
2021-02-22T08:45:00+00:00
COMMENT: The French Haropa ports of Le Havre, Rouen and Paris are steadily implementing the full merger announced over two years ago and the final step should be ready in June of this year, writes Peter de Langen.
CARGO SAILING SHIPS; BECOMING SERIOUS BUSINESS?
2020-12-20T21:17:00+00:00
COMMENT: Over the past couple of years, sailing cargo ships have made a bit of a comeback, writes Peter de Langen.
E-COMMERCE, SERVICE DIFFERENTIATION AND PORT OPERATIONS
2020-11-18T15:37:00+00:00
COMMENT: E-commerce had been growing impressively before COVID-19, with growth rates as much as 10 times higher than the growth of sales of physical stores, writes Peter de Langen.
RECYCLING SUPPLY CHAINS AND NEW BUSINESS: EXPERIENCES IN MALAGA
2020-10-25T18:31:00+00:00
COMMENT: While we may associate the circular economy with more local value chains, a recent initiative from Malaga shows that this is not necessarily the case, writes Peter de Langen.
THE UK FREEPORTS INITIATIVE
2020-09-18T13:03:00+01:00
COMMENT: The UK, after claiming that the EU had been holding back the development of UK’s ports, launched a UK Freeports initiative as a major instrument to shape the UK’s economic development post-Brexit, writes Peter de Langen.
HHLA AND EUROGATE COOPERATION
2020-07-26T20:20:00+01:00
COMMENT: The news from end of May 2020 that HHLA (Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG) and Eurogate are holding discussions on cooperating in the container segment in northern Germany, may well mark a turning point in the German Hanseatic port development tradition, writes Peter de Langen.
PUBLIC PURCHASE OF IMPERIAL QUESTIONED
2020-06-25T19:56:00+01:00
COMMENT: The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to lead to increased state involvement in the transport industry; for airlines it has already begun, writes Peter de Langen.
Lasting Effect of Coronavirus on Ports?
2020-05-08T00:44:00+01:00
COMMENT: The Coronavirus clearly is having a huge global impact, most importantly through affecting the health of millions of people and the loss of human lives, writes Peter de Langen.
SHARE PRICES DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIA
2020-05-07T01:09:00+01:00
COMMENT: In this column, I am venturing into an area I have little expertise in (and as a disclaimer: no personal stake); the evolution of stock prices of terminal operators in the COVID-19 pandemia, writes Peter de Langen.

The ownership of port operators
2020-03-20T16:39:00+00:00
COMMENT: The move of DP World''s parent company (Port and Free Zone World) to purchase shares traded on Nasdaq Dubai and delist the company is highly interesting, writes Peter de Langen.
Smart ports & smart cities
2020-02-17T15:55:00+00:00
COMMENT: A number of leading ports (including, Barcelona, Rotterdam, Hamburg and Montreal) decided to participate jointly in the Smart Cities Summit, held in Barcelona in 2019. Two things became clear from this event, writes Barry Parker.
Ports and export competitiveness
2019-12-10T17:39:00+00:00
COMMENT: In drafting port policies and assessing the benefits of investments in port development, we often stress the link between better ports and export competitiveness, writes Peter de Langen.
INTRA-PORT COMPETITION IN BUENOS AIRES
2019-11-15T16:23:00+00:00
COMMENT: One of the best-known cases of port reform aimed to create intra-port competition is that of Buenos Aires, the largest port of Argentina, writes Peter de Langen.
Emerging competition between ‘Port innovation systems'
2019-10-23T14:44:00+01:00
The recent news that the Singapore sovereign wealth fund, Temasek, and the global freight forwarder, Kuehne + Nagel, will start a venture fund, to be based in Singapore and called Reefknot Investments, is the latest of various initiatives that have emerged over the recent years, writes Peter De Langen.
African ports awards - importance of port performance indicators
2019-09-17T16:47:00+01:00
In June 2019, the winners of the fourth edition of the African Ports Awards (APA) were announced in Lomé, Togo (see http://www.fondationapa.org), writes Peter de Langen.
Ports and lines are in need of a 'positive story'
2019-08-28T15:33:00+01:00
COMMENT: The societal impact of cruise vessels is increasingly under scrutiny, focused on the effects of cruise passengers on cruise cities and environmental effects of cruise ships, writes Peter de Langen.
From fuel to food
2019-06-05T16:40:00+01:00
COMMENT: Rotterdam’s recent announcement that it is developing a 60-hectare ‘Food Hub’ at the entrance to Maasvlakte is interesting, both because of the concept and of the history of the site, writes Peter de Langen.
Meeting tomorrow’s labour demands
2019-04-29T10:15:00+01:00
COMMENT: Providing a series of training sessions for the European Transport Workers’ Federation allowed me and fellow members of the knowledge-dissemination platform www.porteconomics.eu to develop and discuss ideas on the future of labour in ports, writes Peter de Langen.

Circular space opportunities
2019-04-04T09:40:00+01:00
COMMENT: There is a clear transition towards a circular economy, where materials and components are reused or recycled at the end of their lifecycle, and this transition has important consequences for supply chains, ranging from the way products are designed to the business models of companies, writes Peter de Langen.
Bold move or shortsighted?
2019-03-03T19:40:00+00:00
COMMENT: At the end of 2018, the Danish municipality of Kolding, the owner of Port of Kolding and the landlord port development company, decided to shut down the commercial port with a transition period of 25 years. That deserves a WOW, writes Peter de Langen.
A rethink on container storage
2019-01-28T11:41:00+00:00
COMMENT: The recent announcement of a new container storage system, which according to the developers can triple terminal capacity, is interesting news, writes Peter de Langen.
Upside to container line alliances
2018-11-19T11:16:00+00:00
COMMENT: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is at it again, this time with a report that argues alliances between container shipping companies may have negative impacts on users and society at large, writes Peter de Langen.
Supporting open innovation and start-ups
2018-11-01T11:54:00+00:00
COMMENT: In October, Chile’s Valparaiso port enjoyed its time in the spotlight as host port of the American Association of Port Authorities’ annual convention, writes Peter de Langen.
Tidying up inter-terminal connections
2018-10-01T14:56:00+01:00
COMMENT: A study on better co-operation between terminals in Hong Kong by Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Management College has rightfully received industry attention of late, writes Peter de Langen.
Real meaning of inclusivity in ports
2018-08-30T10:12:00+01:00
COMMENT: July saw a major development in Antwerp’s port, with the announcement of the start of a stakeholder-inclusive process to expand container capacity, writes Peter de Langen.
Ships and terminals through Amazon’s eyes
2018-08-06T21:04:00+01:00
COMMENT: Lately, there has been much talk about the entry of new disruptors into ocean shipping, with Amazon most frequently referenced, writes Peter de Langen.
We need more mavericks in ports
2018-06-21T09:34:00+01:00
COMMENT: In various previous columns I have argued that port development is often ‘emergent’ rather than planned, writes Peter de Langen.
Flexibility key to wind ambitions
2018-04-30T09:24:00+01:00
COMMENT: This year’s Danish Port Days were held in Esbjerg, with the theme of ‘port transformations’ guiding a conference that included sessions where academics and industry leaders discussed management research issues worth exploring, writes Peter de Langen.
Who should pay for infrastructure?
2018-03-29T12:12:00+01:00
COMMENT: Who picks up the bill for infrastructure investments is a key issue in port development, writes Peter de Langen
Battle of hinterland expansion
2018-03-05T14:11:00+00:00
COMMENT: Many port development companies, including port authorities, develop commercial strategies which guide their commercial and investment activities. One common ambition in those strategies is the aim to expand the hinterland, writes Peter de Langen.

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