The chief executive of Rotterdam port, Europe's biggest, hopes to see small signs of a recovery in cargo volumes during the fourth quarter of 2009 and stronger signs in 2010, he said on Monday.
Still looking up: Rotterdam embarked on an extension programme last year that will up its size by about 20%
Declines in cargo volumes through Rotterdam could reach a bottom at the end of the second quarter of 2009 but it would take three to four years for volumes to return to 2008 levels, chief executive officer Hans Smits told Reuters.
'We hope that by the end of the second quarter, we will have reached the bottom and then we do hope that in the fourth quarter, we see some signs of recovery, but it will not be very strong,' Mr Smits said in an interview. 'Last year, we had turnover of about 420 million tonnes. Coming back to the level of last year will take at least three to four years,' he said.
The port was sticking to its investment plans to expand, as in the long-term it was preparing for the next period of rapid growth, he said in an interview. 'The economy will pick up again, and we will have to accommodate that growth,' Mr Smits said, adding that the recovery was likely to be seen first in the US and China, followed by Europe.
'This is anti-cyclical investing . . . a port authority is in a position to do that, and we also have a responsibility to invest in this way to be ready when the companies here are in need of extra capacity.'
Rotterdam, a major transit point for oil, coal, grains and other commodities, embarked on an extension programme last year that is set to increase its size by about 20 per cent and double its capacity for containers, which carry finished goods.
Mr Smits said that overall cargo volumes were likely to decline by between 6.5 and 15 per cent in the full year, due to a sharp drop in volumes of iron ore, as well as declines in other goods. He expected traffic of containers to decline between 13 and 15 per cent for the full year, but he mentioned some signs that the decline in container volumes was starting to stabilise.
Iron ore will be among the hardest-hit types of goods in the full year due to a drop in steel demand and volumes are seen declining by about 35 per cent in 2009, Mr Smits said.
Volumes of mineral oil products, however, were likely to be stable or slightly higher in the full year, he said, adding that almost all of the port's storage capacity was being used for crude oil and oil products.
Before the onset of the economic downturn, Europe's biggest ports had faced increasingly chaotic congestion and delays in deliveries as they struggled to expand quickly enough to handle imports from Asia.
Rotterdam has slipped to fourth among the world's largest ports, as China's combined Zhoushan and Ningbo ports have risen to second place, based on the Dutch port's 2008 statistics.
Still looking up: Rotterdam embarked on an extension programme last year that will up its size by about 20%
Declines in cargo volumes through Rotterdam could reach a bottom at the end of the second quarter of 2009 but it would take three to four years for volumes to return to 2008 levels, chief executive officer Hans Smits told Reuters.
'We hope that by the end of the second quarter, we will have reached the bottom and then we do hope that in the fourth quarter, we see some signs of recovery, but it will not be very strong,' Mr Smits said in an interview. 'Last year, we had turnover of about 420 million tonnes. Coming back to the level of last year will take at least three to four years,' he said.
The port was sticking to its investment plans to expand, as in the long-term it was preparing for the next period of rapid growth, he said in an interview. 'The economy will pick up again, and we will have to accommodate that growth,' Mr Smits said, adding that the recovery was likely to be seen first in the US and China, followed by Europe.
'This is anti-cyclical investing . . . a port authority is in a position to do that, and we also have a responsibility to invest in this way to be ready when the companies here are in need of extra capacity.'
Rotterdam, a major transit point for oil, coal, grains and other commodities, embarked on an extension programme last year that is set to increase its size by about 20 per cent and double its capacity for containers, which carry finished goods.
Mr Smits said that overall cargo volumes were likely to decline by between 6.5 and 15 per cent in the full year, due to a sharp drop in volumes of iron ore, as well as declines in other goods. He expected traffic of containers to decline between 13 and 15 per cent for the full year, but he mentioned some signs that the decline in container volumes was starting to stabilise.
Iron ore will be among the hardest-hit types of goods in the full year due to a drop in steel demand and volumes are seen declining by about 35 per cent in 2009, Mr Smits said.
Volumes of mineral oil products, however, were likely to be stable or slightly higher in the full year, he said, adding that almost all of the port's storage capacity was being used for crude oil and oil products.
Before the onset of the economic downturn, Europe's biggest ports had faced increasingly chaotic congestion and delays in deliveries as they struggled to expand quickly enough to handle imports from Asia.
Rotterdam has slipped to fourth among the world's largest ports, as China's combined Zhoushan and Ningbo ports have risen to second place, based on the Dutch port's 2008 statistics.