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Category: News Business Environment
'Rotterdam' outperforms 'Amsterdam'.
Recently, the Ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam published, two days apart, their goods transshipment figures for the first six months of 2010. There were striking differences. Rotterdam handled 213 million tons, in increase of close to 15 percent against the first six months of 2009. Amsterdam's transshipment volume however dropped by over 7 percent to 35.5 million tons. 'The crisis is a thing of the past for the Port of Rotterdam', commented Board Chairman Hans Smits of Rotterdam Port Authority at the presentation of the figures. 'We anticipate steady growth in the coming years!', says Smits, which obviously is good news for businesses in the greater Rotterdam port area.
'We feel it too', says VSL's Commercial Director Jos Müller commenting from Budapest where he is attending the annual EPCA convention for the chemical industry. 'Since the summer months we are getting more questions from companies of all types and sizes. They require solutions for issues arising in the vast Port of Rotterdam hinterland. "Show me what you've got" is what we are getting more in recent months, I am happy to say!'
'And we deliver. Our approach proves to be the right one, and has been in the difficult quarters as well. Our new collaborations enable us basically to come up with a solution every time. And our consistent state of readiness and flexibility, which has only strengthened, ensure delivery of interesting solutions that are almost always more interesting than those of the competition! And this is what makes my job so much fun ...'
In Budapest with hundreds of deciders in the chemical industry and logistics sector meeting from 3 to 6 October business was buzzing again. 'Compared to last year, the mood is a lot better. Positive, constructive and relaxed is how I would describe this year's EPCA convention and its participants. For all of us it is a meeting of minds, so to speak. What is striking though is that no-one is making predictions anymore. In that sense, we are not yet where Hans Smits of the Rotterdam Port Authority is!'
October 2010