Anyone who is regularly on the road has undoubtedly noticed that there is a lot of freight traffic. We are ordering more and more online, but that is not the only reason that it is busy. The economy is running at full speed again. The goods cannot be delivered in time. Flexibility of trucks is still the main reason for the congestion, in contrast to inland shipping and rail transport.
Antwerp is one of the few European ports that currently processes more containers than before corona. More than Hamburg, Rotterdam and Le Havre. According to the Flemish newspaper Gazet van Antwerpen, companies choose Antwerp because of its scale and also because the port is so diversified, with shipping with India, Pakistan, North and South America.
“Since the summer of last year, there has been an unexpectedly high demand for furniture, electronics and sports equipment”
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The end of the corona crisis is clearly in sight for the Transport & Logistics sector. In a number of sectors, the recovery started months ago. The sector is benefiting from the strong recovery in global goods trade and industrial production. A large part of the transport sector is already back to pre-coronavirus levels.
According to ING economists, the division in transport and logistics will be large in 2021. While freight transport is above pre-corona levels, passenger transport still suffers from uncertainty and restrictions. Road transport and logistics services are recovering from corona this year, and 2022 will be the year of truth for public transport and aviation. Freight logistics is benefiting from increasing demand from industry, and construction-related transport is also not that bad. This is favorable for inland shipping.
Also read: Transport sector is unnecessarily damaged
