DS Research, a maritime research firm from Germany reported to WMN that there will be a growth in the global capacity of container handling capacity, which would increase by 260 million TEU in five years, the port demand for containers increase to 210 million TEU during the same period.
It also reports that there are 350 expansion projects aimed at providing the required capacity for a total of 270 million TEU by 2023. However, the probability of achieving these projects fully ranges from 40% to 70% with the lowest percentage of execution for the African continent and the largest to Southeast Asia and Oceania.
The developers of the projects are quite optimistic about the expansions of existing facilities or new sites. They claim that the projects seek to attract the interest of investors and customers. They also mention that the scope and timing of the projects are generally adjusted to market demand, which causes them to be reduced, canceled or postponed.
They claim that container handling capacity increases at a constant degree of 40 to 50 million TEUs year after year, exceeding demand. In terms of container management projects, approximately 300 were built with a capacity of 185 million TEU. However, in terms of container production we have only an increase of 63 million TEU.
Location of port projects
Overall, the development and projects of automated porta continue to grow, on the east coast of the United States, the Mediterranean sea, the Suéz Canal, the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Malacca, nonetheless, little interest in northern Europe and the Panama Canal, including surroundings.
Finally, DS Research also mentions that 75% of the projects are of small and medium size ports and that they estimate completion until 2023. Additionally, they indicate a tendency of the global concessions to grant multipurpose terminals gathering containerized, dry bulk and break bulk cargo operations under the same terminal.
