One million new vehicles handled in Zeebrugge since the start of 2015
The number of new vehicles handled in the port of Zeebrugge this year reached one million. The growing traffic in the automotive sector moves the port authority to extra investments for the sector, the company said in its press release.
In 2014, the automotive terminals in the port of Zeebrugge handled 2,2 million new vehicles. This number was the best of recent years.
The expectations for the year 2015 are high. Zeebrugge shows continuous growth in the handling of new vehicles, keeps attracting new traffic flows and hopes as a result to reclaim the top position as the largest automotive hub in the world. Today is an important milestone: the millionth handled vehicle in 2015 arrived in Zeebrugge. This honor befell on the Toyota Motor Europe terminal.
Toyota’s hub in Zeebrugge plays a substantial role in helping Toyota Motor Europe (TME) maximize its logistics efficiency by reducing costs and delivery time, thereby helping increase customer satisfaction in Europe. In addition to vehicle distribution by ship, truck or rail to large parts of Europe - as far reaching as Russia - the facility is also designed for storage, mounting of accessories and pre-delivery inspections for Toyota and Lexus vehicles en route to Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
“Toyota is a major logistics hub for the import and export of Toyota and Lexus passenger cars and commercial vehicles across Europe. Toyota is our largest brand in Zeebrugge so we are happy to see that this millionth vehicle was handled at their terminal, but we also look forward to all the other vehicles on the specific terminals in the inner port, ICO, WWL, Toyota and C.Ro, which will take us to a new record.”, says Joachim Coens , CEO Port of Zeebrugge.
It is a fact that all automotive terminals in Zeebrugge are doing extremely well. In 2015 new flows of vehicles were announced. International Car Operators Zeebrugge attracted 110,000 Peugeots from France for the British market and 30,000 Honda’s from Mexico for the European market. Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics also experiences the interest and the specific choice for Zeebrugge from global brands and liners.
The traffic of new cars is labour-intensive and therefore also important for employment in the port. It is not just loading or unloading of ships. In Zeebrugge, the vehicules are also adapted to the needs of the local markets. In that way, options are added, any possible damage after transport is checked, manuals are added, cars are washed, painted, (de)waxed, etc. For all these technical interventions or value-added activities, several logistic centres are operational in Zeebrugge nowadays. “There is at this time a need for extra employment in the automotive sector and if Zeebrugge keeps evolving this way, this will surely only grow aswell,” says Joachim Coens.
In light of these growing car flows in the port of Zeebrugge, the port authority has decided to build extra infrastructure in the Southern Canal Dock in the inner port. The port authority also plans to deploy more terrains in the inner port, specifically for the automotive sector.