GERMANY\\\ German gateway digs deep


The port of Hamburg has started dredging the river Elbe fairway with the arrival of the hopper dredger Scheldt River. While the port can already handle the largest container


vessels of over 20,000teu, the project will allow ships to leave Hamburg with a draſt of 13.50 metres and, on the fl ood tide, 14.50 metres. It will provide an extra metre of draſt and vessels


will be able to transport around 1,800 more teu per call. Joint chief executive of Port


of Hamburg marketing Axel Mattern described it as “very good news for our trading and


shipping customers in


the German and European hinterland and all our worldwide business partners.” “We have waited a long time


for today and are now hoping for rapid implementation,” added Ingo Egloff , his executive Board colleague.


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Issue 6 2019 - Freight Business Journal


depots in Bristol, Ma n ch e ste r ,


Birmingham and London for non-perishable products, as well as a similar daily import service from Germany back to the UK. DSV is a member of the IDS distribution network, one of the largest groupage networks throughout Germany, with 50 strategically placed distribution centres. Madsen continues: “One of the


biggest challenges facing DSV at this moment in time are mounting


production costs. The rise in fuel prices, increases in German road tax and a lack of drivers across Europe are all driving the expenditures up. All transport companies and forwarders are in the same situation when it comes to these cost increases, but at DSV we see this an opportunity grow our business. We have the ability to fi nd savings elsewhere by working smarter, both with IT solutions and using our existing resources more effi ciently and creating synergies within our


19


business. “DSV is constantly increasing


the size of its fl eet of trailers in the German market. The fact we have full control of this fl eet enables us to off er a quicker response time, competitive pricing and provide fl exible solutions for customers for both import and export movements.” Madsen concludes: “We feel


there are still massive possibilities to grow in the European markets even with the challenges we are facing and with Brexit looming.”


Driver shortage fuels German boom for Rugby operator


Rugby-based Exact Logistics’ business with Germany has doubled in the past 12 months, says managing director, Adam Shuter. There’s no specifi c reason for the increase: “We have won a lot of new business, but it’s more existing customers growing – and also, maybe, our reputation is spreading.”


deliver all the other smaller loads. They’re doing much more of a hub-to-hub movement than before.” The gradual move over to


unaccompanied operation on the ferries has also created a desire to keep operations as simple as possible. If a driver- accompanied truck gets snarled


While there has been a


lot of economic angst about Brexit lately, the experts at the Bank of England point out that economies are still growing, even if there are signs of a slowdown later in the year. But there could be some more


specifi c factors in play, says Shuter.


“The driver shortage


in Germany could be pushing more business our way. As more drivers pull out of the business, a lot of operators are hiring others from East Germany and what they tend to do is keep them on the main depot to depot trunk hauls, with perhaps a small number of direct deliveries of larger loads, and use us to


up in a delivery problem somewhere and misses a ferry as a result, that can be managed relatively easily - but not the more complex operations involved with unaccompanied trailers on ferries. And another factor


nudging operators towards unaccompanied trailers is that the


increasing reluctance of


those drivers that are available to get involved in the complexities of ferries to the UK, with all the issues of migrant


stowaways,


delays at the ports and militant French


ferrymen. Drivers in


Germany increasingly want to work a set, stable number of hours


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