Container transshipment at the Port of Rotterdam fell 20% in the first nine months of 2026, a sharp contraction that the Port of Rotterdam Authority attributes to capacity constraints at deep-sea terminals pushing cargo toward competing ports. The loss did not drag overall volumes down: total cargo throughput rose 0.9% year on year to 323.2 million tonnes.

Container throughput, measured in TEU, held almost exactly flat at plus 0.1% against the same period in 2025. In tonnes, container volumes slipped 2.2%, reflecting lighter box loads rather than fewer units moving through the Maasvlakte and city-centre terminals.

Why is transshipment falling while hinterland traffic grows?

The Port Authority's explanation is structural rather than demand-driven. Deep-sea terminals at Rotterdam are running tight on capacity, and shipping lines have responded by handling more transshipment cargo elsewhere. That shift has freed terminal space, which Rotterdam has absorbed with containers bound to and from the European hinterland.

Hinterland container volumes grew 7.2% over the nine-month period. Full container imports led the way, up 8.9%, while full container exports rose a more modest 1%. The imbalance between inbound and outbound loaded boxes pushed empty container repositioning volumes higher still — a familiar cost headache for carriers serving North Europe's import-heavy trades.

For shippers and forwarders, the numbers signal two things. First, Rotterdam is consolidating its role as a gateway port for European importers and exporters at the expense of its role as a relay hub for lines redistributing boxes between services. Second, carriers that once used Rotterdam as a transshipment node are already rerouting, which can shift schedule reliability and port-pair transit times for cargo that previously transited the port.

Which bulk segments carried the growth?

Bulk cargo did most of the lifting behind the 0.9% headline gain. Dry bulk throughput increased 2.1%, driven by coal volumes up 15.3% and stronger demand for construction materials. Iron ore and scrap moved the other way, declining 5.9%.

Liquid bulk grew 3.1%. Crude oil throughput rose 2.1%, and mineral oil products posted the strongest bulk result of the period at 11.1%. LNG edged down 0.2%, while breakbulk volumes fell 1.4%.

Boudewijn Siemons, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, framed the results around infrastructure rather than individual cargo segments, noting that European trade flows are continuing to change. "Reliable infrastructure is the basis for economic growth and a resilient supply chain," Siemons said.

The port authority used the results to press its case for continued investment in road, rail and inland waterway connections, arguing that hinterland links determine whether the port can keep converting terminal capacity into usable capacity for European shippers. With transshipment traffic already migrating to other ports and hinterland volumes growing more than seven times faster than total throughput, that investment case will likely define Rotterdam's volume mix — gateway-heavy, hub-light — heading into 2027.