In the first quarter of 2025, the container throughput of the port of Antwerp-Bruges reached 3.44 million TEU, which is 4.5% more than in the same period of 2024 and 2.6% higher than in the previous quarter. This allowed the port to overtake Rotterdam, which handled 3.36 million TEU, and top the ranking of container ports in Europe.
Global trade in 2025 may shrink by 0.2% compared to 2024, warns the World Trade Organization (WTO). A scenario of a deeper decline, up to 1.5%, is possible if the US does not restore tariffs suspended for 90 days. At the same time, the WTO previously predicted global trade growth of 3% next year.
In June, dredging works aimed at restoring the design depth to 7.7 meters will start in the Aktau seaport. This was announced by the Chairman of the Board of the Aktau International Sea Trade Port Abay Turikpenbayev at the Caspian and Central Asia forum in Baku. Currently, due to the lowering of the Caspian Sea level, tankers cannot be fully loaded – instead of 12 thousand tons, they take about 10 thousand.
French shipping group CMA CGM, through its subsidiary Ceva Logistics, has signed an agreement to acquire Turkish logistics company Borusan Tedarik Zinciri Çözümleri ve Teknoloji A.Ş., owned by the Borusan conglomerate. The deal is valued at $440 million, subject to working capital adjustments.
The rail operator ÖBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) has expanded its TransFER Salzburg–Augsburg route to include the new destination of Ulm. Three weekly connections are now running between Austria and southern Germany, one of which has been extended to Ulm, strengthening the connection to RCG TransNET’s international logistics network and improving the wagonload service for customers from various industries.
Belgian logistics company KDL is expanding its infrastructure with a new 18,000 m² warehouse in Lokeren. The facility is equipped with the advanced Movu Robotics Atlas Shuttle automation system, which manages more than 22,000 pallet positions in automatic mode and 11,000 in manual mode, supporting both Euro pallets and industrial pallets weighing up to 1,200 kg.
In the first quarter of 2025, the port of Antwerp-Bruges handled 67.7 million tonnes of cargo, down 4% compared to the same period in 2024. The main reason for the decline was a sharp decline in liquid bulk cargo, especially gasoline, naphtha and LNG, while container traffic, on the contrary, grew by 4.6% by weight and by 4.5% by TEU, strengthening the port’s position in the global ranking – from 15th to 14th place.
In the first quarter of 2025, 2,375 freight trains passed through the Kazakh station of Khorgos, which is 28.5% more than in the same period last year. The volume of transported cargo reached 3.336 million tons, which is 26% more than the figures for the beginning of 2024. This became a record for the first quarter in the history of the station.
Minister of Transport of Kazakhstan Marat Karabayev held talks with representatives of ALSTOM on the modernization of the country’s locomotive fleet. The discussion focused on the renewal of traction rolling stock and the expansion of cooperation with KTZ-Freight Transportation LLC.
From 23 to 25 April, a high-level delegation from the ports of Hamburg and Lübeck visited Estonia to strengthen ties between the German and Estonian logistics sectors. The delegation was hosted at the Paldiski South Harbour and the Muuga Harbour, where representatives from the Port of Tallinn and Rail Baltica and HHLA TK presented key projects, including sustainable logistics solutions and process digitalisation.
