ROTTERDAM tops global container terminals for number of connections for reefer containers, twice as many as its rival Hamburg, and 5,000 more connections than PSA Singapore which has 7,000 connections with a total throughput of 29 million TEU, says a port authority statement.

    Its six main ocean terminals boast 11,000 connections alone with a further 1,000 distributed over specialised inland shipping terminals (300) and depots for container storage (800), according to a statement from the Rotterdam port authority.

    Most of these connections allow for FEUs with an average connection time of three to four days, the port's maximum output could amount to two million TEU per year not taking into account seasonality of perishables.

    Seventy per cent of the connections at the terminals are concentrated at the threes on the Maasvlakte, although the two deep-sea terminals in the Waal/Eemhaven area have relatively more connections.

    Shifting consumption and production patterns and system changes in shipping companies (large Asian services loading African cargo in southern Europe) mean that the Maasvlakte is becoming more important for reefer boxes. The increase in shipping between the southern hemisphere and north western Europe works in the same way.

    ECT Delta, located in Maasvlakte, on the North Sea coast near Rotterdam boasts of the largest number of connections at 3,250 able to handle five million TEU annually. Both ECT and Uniport, located in the Waalhaven basin, receive meat, fish and fruit from Latin America, southern and West Africa, Oceania, Iceland and Norway.

    The export of seasonal fruit from South America and South Africa starts in February, which means almost all the fruit, with the exception of bananas which are produced year round. In Rotterdam, the container share in this is now enormous, when compared to entire reefer vessels with separate pallets, according to the port statement.

    The strongest growth, however, is taking place in the Middle East and Asia (taste development plus increased buying power), said the port of Rotterdam. As a result, and reinforced by the euro/dollar ratio, more fruit flows to Asia. Increasing supply is possible but it takes time before new trees and plants are productive.

    Frozen and refrigerated products are stored temporarily very close (Eemhaven, Maasvlakte) to the port and/or have a final destination on the continent, no more than 500 kilometres from Rotterdam.

    The two terminals being constructed at Maasvlakte 2, Rotterdam World Gateway and APMT Rotterdam, will have a large number of connections for reefer containers, said the statement. The dynamics aren't limited to the sea area and hinterland connections are important parts of the cool supply chain, it said.

(Source:Shippingazette)