Join the February 2027 Port Conversation Series
ROTTERDAM – When Maasvlakte 2 opened in 2013, expectations were high. The 2,000-hectare expansion increased the Port of Rotterdam’s land area by roughly 20 percent and paved the way for a new generation of deep-sea container terminals. Thirteen years after its opening, only three container terminals are active on the reclaimed land: Hutchison Ports, APM Terminals and Rotterdam World Gateway (RWG). The promise was clear: larger ships, more efficient operations and continued growth in container throughput.
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Yet the numbers tell a different story. In 2017, Rotterdam had a container throughput of 10,5 million TEU. Today, ten years laters, it dropped till 9,8 million. Despite additional space, deeper water and some of the world’s most advanced terminals, growth has not followed the trajectory many expected when Maasvlakte 2 was conceived. So the question remains:
Why has Rotterdam’s container handling declined 7% while the port itself has grown by roughly 20%?
Throughout February 2027, PortNews.eu will investigate this question in a four-part conversation series. On February 5, we kick off with Man vs Machine. On February 12, we ask whether Size Doesn’t Matter when it comes to mega-ships and port productivity. On February 19, we look Beyond the Quay Wall to examine whether inland transport has become Rotterdam’s hidden bottleneck. Finally, on February 26, we search for The Missing Containers and investigate where growth may have gone and what it means for Europe’s largest port.
Port Conversation Series : The Rotterdam Paradox
This series is not intended to provide definitive answers. Rather, it is the starting point of a wider industry debate that will be open to public in four different ports and logistics hubs across Northwest Europe.
February 5 – Rotterdam: Man vs Machine
Has terminal automation increased efficiency, or are conventional terminals still outperforming highly automated operations when it comes to throughput and vessel productivity?
February 12 – Antwerp: Size Doesn’t Matter
Mega-ships continue to grow larger every year, but do these giants actually help ports move more containers, or do they create new operational bottlenecks on the quay and in the hinterland?
February 19 – Duisburg: Beyond the Quay Wall
Is Rotterdam’s real challenge no longer at the terminal, but in moving containers inland by rail, barge and truck? Has the efficiency gained at sea been lost on land?
February 26 – Dunkirk: The Missing Containers
If Rotterdam has more space, deeper water and state-of-the-art terminals, where did the expected growth go? Have containers shifted to competing ports such as Antwerp-Bruges, Hamburg and Dunkirk, or are changing trade patterns redrawing Europe’s port map?
Why This Series Matters
The questions raised in this series extend far beyond Rotterdam. Ports around the world are investing billions of euros in automation, terminal expansion and infrastructure upgrades. Governments are promoting sustainability, shipping lines are deploying ever-larger vessels, and logistics chains are becoming increasingly interconnected.
Yet one fundamental question remains largely unanswered: what truly drives container throughput in the 21st century? Is it technology? Scale? Hinterland connectivity? Shipping alliances? Or is success determined by a combination of factors that many ports still struggle to balance?
By bringing together experts from ports, terminals, shipping lines, academia and the logistics sector, PortNews.eu hopes to contribute to a fact-based discussion about the future competitiveness of Europe’s gateway ports.
Join the Conversation
At PortNews.eu, we believe these four themes deserve an open, fact-based discussion. We are therefore inviting terminal operators, shipping lines, port authorities, researchers, technology suppliers, dockworkers and logistics professionals to share their insights, operational data and experiences.
Do you have figures, case studies, academic research, historical data or practical examples related to one of these four themes? Do you disagree with our assumptions or have information that could shed new light on the debate? Then we would like to hear from you. Together, we can build a more complete picture of what is really happening in the world’s leading container ports and help answer one of the most intriguing questions in European port development today.
Share your information, data, research or views with the PortNews.eu editorial team and help shape this important industry discussion. The best contributions will be featured in our February 2027 Port Conversation series.