Slowing economies at both ends of the Asia-Europe trade have had little effect on the container volume being handled by the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp.

It has taken many years, but finally dredging work on the crucial river access to Europe’s third-largest port has begun.

The Port of Antwerp is expanding its program of extended terminal gates and launching a six-month test of 24-hour gates at two terminals as cargo volumes at the port continue to grow.

The action, which involves both private and public sector union workers, will affect all transport providers in Europe's second-largest container port as well as Brussels Airport.

Executives from Imperial Logistics International participated in a wide-ranging question and answer session concerning the mounting intermodal transport challenges facing shippers and forwarders moving cargo around Europe.

Executives from Rotterdam and Antwerp, barge operator neska Container Line, and Dusseldorf-based Asia-Europe shipper Metro Sourcing International gathered at JOC’s Container Trade Europe conference in Hamburg to thrash out a problem that has dogged the giant hub ports for years.

Along with trade tensions and the non-finalized new trade rules between the United States and the European Union, trade stakeholders are concerned about the condition of Turkey’s economy, a further deterioration of which would substantially hurt regional trade.

The new loop with calls at Antwerp, Dunkirk, Teesport, and Grangemouth will start with weekly sailings every Wednesday (Antwerp) and Thursday (Dunkirk) on Aug 15.

At mid-2018, nearly every segment of Europe’s supply chain is straining to keep pace with strong container shipping volume growth — particularly barge and inland haulage. The good news is Europe’s impressive trade growth story continues — a welcomed economic rejuvenation.

Asia-Europe shippers are looking more at southern European ports as intermodal bottlenecks slow container delivery through some of the big North Europe gateways.

A pilot project in Rotterdam will give shippers and forwarders greater visibility of containers and allow them to better plan box transport.

Antwerp wants the barge congestion afflicting the port to be resolved soon and has put in place measures to address the long-running problem.

Lengthy delays in moving containers out of Antwerp could be cut down if the port’s investment in new rail services, more efficient barge operations, and a truck managing platform are successful.

Solid container growth at the Port of Antwerp was not enough to close the gap on rival Rotterdam that has managed to boost its transshipment business.

The huge container ship that ran aground while leaving the Port of Antwerp, obstructing access to Europe's second busiest port, has been refloated.

Total throughput increased 2.8 percent to 111.4 million metric tons.