The stakeholders of the Port of Rotterdam have signed a declaration of intent to collaborate on sector-wide negotiations for container transport by road.
The port faces major challenges and opportunities arising from the expected growth in container volume to and from the port. Within the sector-wide negotiations, these are being tackled to improve traffic flow, safety and sustainability of road transport to strengthen the Port of Rotterdam’s competitiveness.
Such initiatives already existed for inland shipping and rail. The sector-wide negotiations on container transport by road actively work on creating the safest, fairest, most sustainable and efficient possible container logistics by road.
The parties involved are convinced that a joint approach will be able to efficiently accommodate the expected growth in road transport to and from the port.
This reportedly guarantees continued good operations to the hinterland, within the social preconditions related to safety and sustainability.
The parties focus on six strategic focal points:
- Spreading road transport; more transport outside peak hours.
- Developing dynamic port planning.
- Pursuing zero-emission container transport by road.
- Reducing trips with empty containers and no containers; improving the load factor of trucks.
- Secure chain for safe port logistics.
- Pursuing zero incidents for a safe road chain.
The working groups involving all participating parties, such as transporters, freight forwarders, shippers, terminals, depots, ship agents and the Port of Rotterdam Authority, develop and tackle the focal points. The working groups on the themes of sustainability and safety recently started.
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Joint fact-finding research was conducted in parallel with these working groups’ activities. This research offers insight into the implications of the road product with growing container volumes and increasing autonomous developments. Furthermore, the research evaluates the added value of the strategic focal points before they are developed further in the working groups.
The sector-wide negotiations for container transport by road primarily focus on improving the road product in the Port of Rotterdam. However, all parties aim for a dynamic and sustainable division of transport over all modalities (road, rail and inland shipping).
Earlier this October, the Port of Rotterdam Authority and Swietelsky Rail Benelux B.V. signed a contract to build a bundle of six tracks sufficient for 740-metre trains as part of the new Maasvlakte-Zuid rail yard.
