Austerity measures hit North Europe ports

   Austerity measures will result in a weak first quarter for North Europe ports, says Ben Hackett, founder of the consultancy Hackett Associates, in the latest edition of the North Europe Global Port Tracker report.
   The report, prepared with the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) in Bremen, is projecting European deep-sea import growth for 2012 in the 3 percent range, with most of the growth coming in the second half of the year. Volumes through July are forecast to be lower than last year.
   The report also says the export market is beginning to show signs of weakness, as overseas destinations face reduced input demand, with January and February showing declining volumes. The report projects export growth of nearly 5 percent for the year.
   The picture for imports is more mixed. The Germany and Polish economies are performing well, but further to the west, in the Netherlands, Belgium and France, the outlook for 2012 is bleaker.
   “Therefore, the German ports are set to grow faster in 2012 than their neighbors – just as they did in the past year when they were recapturing market shares, particularly in the transhipment segment,” said Sönke Maatsch of ISL. “However, in 2012, the difference in growth rates will most likely be less pronounced.”