News / Bigger box ships calling at fewer ports puts serious pressure on hinterland connections

Bigger containerships and fewer port calls are leading to severe hinterland congestion and a weaker ports industry, delegates at Transport Logistic in Munich heard this week.

“The three alliances have fewer port-to-port connections,” explained Olaf Merk, of the International Transport Forum. “There has been a clear reduction between January and April on the major lanes.

“Shippers have less choice, and there is less service frequency. Weekly Asia-EU, for example, has gone down. That leads to more peaks and troughs in terminals. Sometimes they ...