Estimation and analysis of container handling rates in European ports

Résumé En

In less than ten years, the carrying capacity of containerships has doubled, from 12,500 TEUs to 24,000 TEUs for the most recent Megamax-24 generation ships. In the interest of economic viability, ship- owners have set up maritime services in order to optimize their ports of call and therefore concentrate their flows on a limited number of ports. In order to accommodate these giants of the seas and to improve the flow of goods, port authorities make massive investments and attempt to highlight their competitive advantages by favouring the mass development of hinterland connections in particular. However, the physical capacity of a port to accommodate and manage the transport of these goods does not guarantee it can attract these flows. In a context of global economic competition, comparisons between ports are based on traffic statistics published principally by the port authorities. These raw data do not provide any information on port performances. Above all, they give no information on the capacity of the port to be a port of call for the ship-owners in their way to organize their maritime services. Had these data existed, it would provide a new perspective on port traffic. Indeed, the performance of a port cannot be evaluated through the sole examination of the volumes handled. Other criteria should also be considered. Unfortunately, some information is missing or some works should be undertaken on existing date. This paper will compare the European TEU port traffic in 2020 with the port calling capacity provided by containerships. This will make it possible to determine the average handling rate of ships making calls during the year and thus provide a complementary tool for analysing European ports