Allard Castelein, chief executive of the Port of Rotterdam, Europe's largest port, recently told the media that due to the "boom" of the integrated transportation market, major ports around the world are experiencing congestion. The Port of Rotterdam's influence is expanding as the port grows, with a shortage of 8,000 jobs.
At present, in the operation of large 24,000TEU container ships, the Port of Rotterdam must have corresponding supporting services to transfer a large amount of goods to the domestic transportation system (including distribution centers, truck transportation and railways, etc.) and inland systems will create a lot of stress that will continue for many years.
Allard Castelein said that there are several reasons for the stress on the transportation system. In recent years, the Port of Rotterdam has increased investment to increase the port's capacity, but these investments will take some time to relieve the port's operational pressure. But demand in all industries is very strong, putting pressure on terminals and other distribution systems, and the most important factor is labor shortages.
While the labor shortage in the Port of Rotterdam is not as severe as it is in the Port of Los Angeles, the Port of Rotterdam also faces the challenges of a possible shortage of truck drivers, dock workers, and inadequate connections to inland transportation and logistics systems.
Overall, the Port of Rotterdam employs around 160,000 people, but recruiting is getting harder and vacancies have quadrupled over the years, with a total of 8,000 vacancies across all sectors now. Allard Castelein: “There are demographic reasons for vacancies, but as an industry we need to make sure that we are attractive enough to potential employees that they want to come and work here.” On the other hand, the structure of the workforce can also change over time. Changes, such as some jobs will be replaced by automation technology, and the green transformation of the port industry will bring new jobs.
