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By Alex Lennane
In the sea freight business, it has been the shipping lines, capacity and rate decisions hitting the headlines. But few have been looking at the container ports, which, in Europe, are facing a glut in capacity, and therefore a tough time. The problem, of course, is that infrastructure development takes a long time – and it was ordered before the beginning of the first economic decline, when everything looked rosy, in 2008. This article shows how slowing volumes, increased competition and lots of capacity are affecting the business.