Seaports

Noordzeekanaalgebied

The Noordzeekanaalgebied is the second seaport of the Netherlands. In Europe, the Noordzeekanaalgebied is the fourth largest in size.

The Noordzeekanaalgebied  consists of the ports of Amsterdam, Velsen / IJmuiden, Beverwijk and Zaanstad. The said municipalities manage these ports, except the ports of the NV Zeehaven IJmuiden and the port of the steel company Corus. The latter ports are located before the sea-locks of IJmuiden. The other ports are behind the locks. To reach the inland ports, the larger bulk carriers often partially unload their cargoes.

With a total throughput of 87 million tonnes in 2009, the The Noordzeekanaalgebied accounted for 17 percent of the national throughput (and 18 percent of the direct value added). In 2008, 37,000 people worked in port-related businesses at the Noordzeekanaalgebied , who together realized 5.2 billion euros in direct added value.

Airports

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Schiphol is an important European airport, ranking as Europe’s 3rd largest and the world’s 14th largest for cargo tonnage. It also ranks as the world’s 3rd largest by international passenger traffic as well as Europe’s 5th and the world’s 14th busiest by overall passenger volume. The airport is one out of four airports in the world to have a rating of four stars in Skytrax's grading system.

Schiphol has five main runways, plus one used mainly by general aviation aircraft. The northern end of the Polderbaan, the name of last runway to be constructed, is 7 km north of the control tower, causing lengthy taxi times (up to 20 min) to the terminal. Plans have been made for a seventh runway. Schiphol is the home base of KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines), Arkefly, Martinair, Amsterdam Airlines and Transavia.

Schiphol is geographically one of the world's lowest major commercial airports. The entire airport is below sea level; the lowest point sits at 11 feet (3.4 m) below sea level (or 4.5 feet (1.4 m) below the Dutch Normaal Amsterdams Peil (NAP)); the runways are around 3 metres (9.8 ft) below NAP.

Road & Rail

The Netherlands has an extensive, modern and well-maintained road and highway network that integrates seamlessly into the European one. And with around 12,000 transport companies ranging from very small, one-truck operations to large international players, ample services are available.
The Dutch transport industry has an excellent reputation, and thanks to free competition and minimal government intervention, Dutch transport companies offer the best price-quality ratio for transportation and distribution services in Europe.

Study results reveal that the Netherlands has retained its lead in road (FTL and LTL) transportation.
Transport tariffs to and from the Netherlands tend to be lower than in the other countries surveyed, making Dutch inbound (air, ocean, and barge) and outbound (road) transport industries more attractive to customers.

Road congestion is and will continue to be perceived as a problem in Western European countries in general, especially in port areas. The Rotterdam area was one of the first ports affected by this but also seems to be at the vanguard in devising solutions to this issue. Rotterdam was the first port in Europe to have a dedicated rail connection with the hinterland (Betuwelijn). Rotterdam is also very active in establishing inland container transfer points.

Although road transport is still by far the most popular mode of transport in Europe, in the past decade, the demand for rail freight has grown tremendously. The Dutch railway network is modern and well-connected and provides excellent links to major economic regions in the European hinterland.

The Netherlands is one of the leading countries within the EU as far as the introduction of competition in rail transportation is concerned. Users of rail transport in the Netherlands have a choice of fourteen competing train operating companies for rail freight services, offering door-to-door services and delivering traction for container shuttle services.  From the Port of Rotterdam, numerous freight trains leave on a daily basis to the major industrial centers in Europe, which can be reached within 24 hours. Furthermore, in June 2007, a brand-new railroad dedicated to rail freight transport, the Betuwe Line, was opened, offering uninterrupted and even faster connections than ever before. The Betuwe Line provides direct access to the trans-European rail freight network and runs from the ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam straight to the German border. Forecasts show that Dutch volumes of rail transportation will rise to 78-110 million tons in the period of 2020-2040.

Source: http://www.ndl.nl/

Inland Shipping

Due to its location at the mouth of several important European rivers such as the Rhine, the Maas and the Schelde, the Netherlands is the gateway to the European hinterland.

The Netherlands, having a long history concerning inland shipping that goes back to even the 14th century, has  an excellent  natural infrastructure for waterborne transport and holds the largest market share in inland shipping in Europe. Inland shipping in the Netherlands accounts for more than 30% of all freight transport and over 50% of the entire  European fleet is owned by Dutch companies

The Dutch inland waterway system consists of more than 500 kilometres main transport waterways, almost 900 km of main waterways and 3600 km of other waterways. Together they connect all the 3500 industrial zones in The Netherlands of which around 250 have direct access to an inland terminal. As the number of inland terminals in the Netherlands continues to grow, the inland shipping network is becoming denser, making inland shipping increasingly attractive for transportation across short distances.

With 10% of the European main waterways situated in The Netherlands,  it is the logistics gateway to the European market. Many international companies serve their customers throughout Europe and even the Middle East, Africa, and beyond via a central distribution center in the Netherlands.

Having excellent sea- and airport and railway facilities, an advanced and extensive infrastructure, a highly developed logistics industry and being a very central location, the Netherlands offers excellent connections to all these markets via every mode of transport available.

Intermodal shipment is a new buzz word in Europe, which means the movement of goods by successive modes of transport but in the same loading unit, and is increasing enormously.

The changing of mode of transports happens in transshipment locations. In The Netherlands we have about 400 inland ports, where they mostly transship bulk cargo, and that serves as a regional industrial and logistic hub on waterways. The Netherlands also have 25 container terminals, where mostly containers are being transferred, but also pallets, general cargo, bulk and trailers. This way every region is accessible. All these terminals and inland ports are linked to the European hinterland consisting 96 (inland) terminals.

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