The impact of the Economic Crisis on the port of Duisburg 'Duisport'

Inland ports in the region of the “Blue Banana” in western Europe gain on importance. Beside several inland ports in the Rhine-Ruhr Area, the port of Duisburg, “Duisport- Group”, plays the most important role as being the biggest inland hub in Europe. Throughout the last decades, it has experienced the growth of inland freight distribution required an increase of flows. The port of Duisburg as an inland-hub is a more appropriate construct since it considers terminal activities as well as logistic activities taking place. As inland ports are fitting into regional economic geography by linking a region, the Rhine-Ruhr Area to global supply chains. However, since the ongoing economic crisis hit the world economy, also inland-hubs draw new visions and changes in their operating activities, as sea-hubs like Rotterdam. “Duisport´s” location is also special, due to the importance of coal and other bulk cargo, which plays a significant role in the Ruhr Area. The area is also special, for hundreds of firms operating, which are regulated by the harbour. Further, containerization is dominantly linked in the maritime and domestic transhipment, as other intermodal activities which might suffer by the economic crunch. This assignment evaluates the different functions of “Duisport-Group” and if they are capable to regulate the economic situation without suffering or how to overcome drops in demand for the nearby future. This analysis is based on the numbers of the annual reports from 2007 onwards and how the development directly after the crunch is characterized. There are significant changes in bulk and general cargo compared to the total revenue through the years. Finally, it is recommended that the “Duisport Group” is prepared well enough to foresee economical situations with a risk management system. That makes it possible to act early enough to overcome huge expenses and find prompt solutions. Lastly, an outlook on the operational side is given. It shows that especially in container transportation the potential for efficiency gains of port operations is tremendous.