Growth in agribulk logistics at the port of Rotterdam

Container rates on the Asia–Europe route continue to decline, and this is expected to remain the case in the coming weeks. Throughput at the Port of Rotterdam decreased slightly in 2025, while agribulk volumes increased. Meanwhile, international trade is once again facing uncertainty over Trump’s import tariffs. For the seventh consecutive week, spot rates for container shipping have been falling. This week, the Drewry World Container Index fell by 1%. Further decline in container rates from China to Europe expected On the route from Shanghai to Rotterdam, rates fell by 1% to $2,094 per 40-foot container, and from Shanghai to Genoa, rates fell by 2% to $2,826. Normally, volumes pick up again in March when factories resume full operations after the Lunar New Year. However, Drewry now expects that spot rates will remain under pressure due to increasing capacity. The data platform predicts that spot prices on trade routes between Asia and Europe will decline further in the coming weeks. The container prices from Shanghai to Los Angeles decreased by 1%. The rates from China to New York remained stable. Drewry expects that spot prices on these routes will remain stable next week. New episode full of uncertainties about import tariffsInternational trade is facing a new wave of uncertainty over US import tariffs. The US Supreme Court declared the vast majority of the import tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump null and void. Following this, Trump announced the establishment of a 10% import tariff based on another law. Later, he mentioned 15%, but for now, it has become 10%. This also affects treaties with the US, such as the one with the EU. As the largest trading partner of the United States, the EU expects the US to adhere to the obligations set forth in the joint statement, the European Commission stated in a declaration. EU companies and exporters must enjoy fair treatment, predictability, and legal certainty. News agency Bloomberg cites a spokesperson from the Commission who says that under the new US tariff system, about 7% of EU exports would be subject to tariffs exceeding the agreed 15% limit. Higher import tariffs mainly borne by the US itself The import duties that the US imposed in 2025 have largely been absorbed by America itself. This is evidenced by new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Nearly 90% of the costs were borne by American companies and consumers. Exporters thus did not lower their prices or did so minimally. Two earlier studies had reached similar conclusions. Throughout the year, the average tariff fluctuated significantly, according to the New York Fed. At the beginning of the year, the import duties averaged 2.6%. This rose sharply in April and May when the tariff for goods from China was increased by 125 percentage points. However, by mid-May, this rate was already reduced by 115 percentage points. At the end of the year, the average import duties were 13%. William Bain, head of trade policy at the British Chamber of Commerce, the BCC, reacts: It is completely unclear what will happen next and whether a higher tariff is still on the horizon. Despite the temporary easing, there is new uncertainty for British companies exporting goods to the US. This makes it very difficult for businesses to know what prices and margins they can achieve in a few months for their products that are currently in production and that they want to sell for export. This will inevitably affect their revenues and harm the economy. FedEx files lawsuit over import tariffs More than 1,500 American companies, including the large transportation company FedEx, have filed a lawsuit in the US Court of International Trade against the US government regarding the high import tariffs. They want their money back now that the US Supreme Court has ruled that the higher tariffs imposed by Donald Trump are unlawful. Transshipment volumes decline in the Port of Rotterdam The Port of Rotterdam has seen little impact from the US import tariffs. The effect last year was 'not or hardly' noticeable, says CEO Siemons to Nu.nl. He was speaking at the presentation of the port’s annual results. The throughput decreased slightly by 1.7% in 2025 to 428.4 million tons. Throughput of containers on other ships (transshipment) was diverted to other ports due to congestion at the terminals. As a result, this transshipment dropped by 15.9% in 2025. Shortsea volumes (within Europe) remained stable. The throughput of agribulk increased by 6.3%. Especially in the first half of 2025, the volumes were strong, according to the port in a statement. According to the port, this growth is linked to the commissioning of a new dry bulk terminal in Rotterdam. Due to the competitive position of the European steel industry still being under pressure, the throughput of iron ore and scrap decreased by 11.5%. In addition, amid weak European steel production, coal throughput fell by 8.7% . The largest decrease was seen in dry bulk throughput, especially iron ore, which fell by 6.5%. This was attributed to high energy and CO₂ prices and cheap imports. Container throughput increased by 3.1% to 14.2 million TEU (20-foot containers) to 14.2 million TEU. Tonnage declined by 0.2%. This was driven by a higher share of empty containers, reflecting a 9.3% increase in import volumes from Asia, lower export volumes and a decline in transshipment.