EU | UK news digest. 25 July
Despite the tough times the flood has caused to rail, the industry welcomes new advances
The recent floods have a truly disastrous character as, apart from causing severe damage on the local level in Belgium, they have paralyzed a major North Sea-Mediterranean Corridor. For the time being, even alternative routes are blocked so the repair is needed as soon as possible. Besides, long diversion routes and certainly not a feasible alternative. One of the options that are currently in the talks is a diversion via Paris.
France has drawn attention also thanks to the opening of the Calais-Perpignan route by CargoBeamer. The latest intermodal service is suitable for cranable and non-cranable semi-trailers. The company has ambitious plans for its new facility. It wants to transform it into an international logistics platform linking different European terminals and promoting multimodal traffic between Britain and southern or eastern Europe.
There is a tendency of ports experiencing the rise in TEU throughput worldwide, and the Port of Rotterdam is not an exception. The recent data has shown an 8.7% increase in H1 that has broken its six-month traffic record. The number is driven mainly by empty containers and a rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts consider the result satisfactory and claim that it allows continuing investing in the port, the transition to cleaner energy, and good accessibility.
Overall, the container market impresses experts and industry players not only with exceptionally high rates but also with orders, sales, and values. The ordering market for containers is at historic highs with an incredible 790% in H1 2021. There is a significant increase in activity in the secondhand Panamax container ship market. The number of sales is up 780% for the year to date 2021. In addition, the market sees a surge in values. Because of the increased S&P market, the Panamaxes tonnage has more than doubled in value in just three months. However, the soaring spot rates continue to cause pain to shippers regarding multiple trades, especially in the North Atlantic westbound route, where they have seen spot rates soar by 175% in just four months.
A new sustainable initiative is looming over the horizon involving Tarmac’s collaboration with electrical engineering specialists Furrer+Frey to develop a retractable overhead electrical supply system suitable for freight terminals. The new approach will bring significant changes if trials prove to be successful. The trial is part of the UK government First of a Kind competition that supports talents from companies to fund existing innovations that may be in use outside the rail industry but could also benefit operations.
Rhenus takes over Log Adria on its way to building its presence in the Balkans. Now it will become directly involved in freight forwarding and related services over the ports of Rijeka and Ploče. The cooperation started a while ago, but the new step is Rhenus’ first advancement in Croatia.
Meanwhile, working on development of a facility in the tropical jungles of Stoke on Trent, DB Cargo UK brings back covered steel wagons that have not been used for ages. The “pre-historic” wagons will be re-designed. The ability to utilize the same wagons on either open coil or slab traffic would benefit from increased utilization of the asset while reducing the reliance on older, life-expired steel wagons.
