As reported by the latest Baltic Container Outlook 2007, in 2007 Poland moved up to fourth place in the ranking of countries with the highest container turnover in the north-eastern region of Europe. Thanks to an increase of over one hundred thousand (tons) in transshipments in Gdynia, Polish ports recorded a 32% increase in container turnover in 2007, and Gdynia itself became the third largest container port on the Baltic Sea, overtaking, for example, Aarhus and Kotka.
In the Baltic Container Outlook 2007 report, we find not only data on the current state of container shipping on the Baltic Sea, but also the most important indicators allowing for comparisons with global and European trends. The balance of power in the container industry globally remains largely unchanged for now. Global maritime container transport reached 143 million TEU in 2007. At the same time, global seaports handled as many as 480 million TEU. The largest container seaport remains Singapore (turnover of 27.9 m TEU), ahead of Shanghai (26.2 million TEU) and Hong Kong (23.9 million TEU). On the European market, quite significant changes can already be observed. Last year, transshipments in Rotterdam exceeded 10 million TEU for the first time, which clearly indicates the growing increase in trade on the Old Continent. On the Baltic Sea, the largest container port is invariably St. Petersburg, which handled 1,697,720 TEU in 2007. However, particular changes occurred last year in the ports of Gdynia and Kotka. Both recorded an increase in transshipment turnover of over one hundred thousand, which translated into results of 614 thousand TEU in Gdynia and 571 thousand TEU in Kotka. Subsequent positions (after St. Petersburg) were taken by: Gothenburg, Gdynia, Kotka, Aarhus, and Helsinki.
Along with the increase in transshipments, the capacity and number of units in the Baltic container fleet are growing. Dynamic growth can also be observed in the potential of the global container maritime fleet. The number of units used solely for container transport, so-called fully cellular ships, increased by 11.7% (to 3,904 units), and their average capacity grew by 4% to reach 2,417 TEU. On the Baltic Sea, there are currently 19 container carriers operating, which have a total fleet of 152 ships with a total capacity of 113.7 thousand TEU. During 2007, there was an increase in the average unit capacity of 15.5% to 760 TEU. The largest carriers remain Unifeeder, Team Lines, and MSC. All container lines currently operating on the Baltic Sea have a feeder character. For example, the largest Baltic carrier Unifeeder connects six North Sea hubs with 16 Baltic ports. (Data from March 2008)
The most significant part of the report consists of data on the Baltic container market along with forecasts up to 2015.
– Baltic Container Outlook is our proprietary project – says Bogdan Ołdakowski, president of Actia Forum, the company preparing the report. – This year’s edition is the second in a row and will be prepared annually. The Outlook is intended as a must-have for everyone involved in the container industry in our region.
– Container transport on the Baltic Sea is growing much faster than the global average – by 16.8%, and although Russia remains the largest container market with a 25% share of all transshipped containers, the changes currently taking place have caused Poland to advance to fourth place. – adds the report’s author, Dr. Maciej Matczak, senior consultant at Actia Consulting.
– The ranking of the largest container ports on the Baltic Sea has been reshuffled. Particularly important factors for the growth of container turnover on the Baltic Sea are the high pace of economic development in the region, which has been maintained for several years, and the intensification of international trade. The increasing use of container technology is also favorably influenced by the gradual change in the production structure, strengthened by foreign investments in our region. All this indicates that the Baltic Sea will continue to be a place of dynamic changes in containerization for a long time to come.
Baltic Container Outlook was prepared by the Actia Consulting team, which is part of the Gdynia-based company Actia Forum. Details regarding the report can be found at www.actiaconsulting.pl.