Antwerp-Bruges overtook Rotterdam in the first quarter to assume the mantle of Europe’s busiest container port, handling 3.43 million TEUs against its Dutch rival’s 3.36 million TEUs.

While Rotterdam’s container volume in the first three months rose 2.2% year over year, throughput at the Belgian hub was up 4.5%, increasing Antwerp-Bruges’ market share in the Hamburg-Le Havre range by 0.6 percentage point to 30.5%.

“These quarterly figures emphasize how valuable the complementarity between Antwerp and Zeebrugge actually is,” Dirk de Fauw, mayor of Bruges and vice president of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges board of directors, said in a statement issued by the port Tuesday.

The Belgian ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge merged in 2022 to form the Port of Antwerp-Bruges.

“The combination of scale and specialization is proving itself time and again, especially in a turbulent international environment,” de Fauw noted.

Executives at Antwerp-Bruges and Rotterdam highlighted in separate statements the extreme global disruption in container markets during the first quarter and the US tariff-driven uncertainty that lies ahead.

“The first three months of this year were characterized by a high degree of volatility in world trade as a result of threatened import duties in the United States and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East,” Boudewijn Siemons, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, said in a statement.

“This volatility has led to uncertainty among companies in the areas of trade and investment,” he added. “We see this reflected in throughput volumes and the willingness to invest.”

Impact of US tariffs

While Antwerp-Bruges said the immediate impact of the on-again, off-again US tariffs remained limited for now, it warned that further developments in trade tariffs would impact the logistics chain in the coming months. But how significant that impact could be was difficult to predict, said Jacques Vandermeiren, the port’s CEO.

“We are in particularly uncertain times,” he noted in the first-quarter results statement, adding that stability was critical, both for the port’s customers and for the broader economy.

“At the same time, the protectionist measures taken by the US make it clear that Europe needs to make a stronger commitment to robust economic policies in order to strengthen our industry and anchor its strategic position,” Vandermeiren noted.

On March 12, the US applied a 25% tariff to iron, steel, aluminum and derived products from around the world. On April 3, that was extended to include cars and car parts, also at 25%, with an additional 20% increase on goods originating from the European Union.

Then on April 9, the Trump administration announced a 90-day temporary pause for countries open to negotiations, leaving the 10% across-the-board baseline tariff on Europe in place during the negotiating period.

The European Union has also suspended its reciprocal tariffs on US exports such as Harley-Davidson motorcycles, bourbon whiskey and boats. A second phase of tariffs due to take effect April 15 has also been suspended for the 90-day period.

Europe’s hub ports are watching the trans-Atlantic trade for signs of frontloading as shippers take advantage of the 90-day window to advance orders, but so far, they have not seen any significant increase in demand.

Rotterdam’s trans-Atlantic volume plunged 23.1% in the first quarter compared with the same period last year. However, the port said this was not tariff-related but rather a result of two shipping services being shifted to other ports because of limited capacity at terminals that experienced significant congestion for much of the quarter.

In terms of total tonnage, Rotterdam’s first-quarter throughput declined 1.1% year over year, driven by an 8.1% decrease in the export of full containers, according to the port statement. Export containers are heavier, which means the average weight per container is lower.

Of immediate concern to Europe, however, are Chinese imports. The European Commission is closely monitoring containerized imports from China amid growing fears that the high US tariffs will force a redirection of trans-Pacific trade flows and flood Europe with Chinese goods.

Undermining industrial competitiveness

Antwerp-Bruges highlighted the deeper challenges facing the European economy, with the industrial sector struggling with structural problems that are “seriously undermining its competitiveness.” These included high energy and production costs, global overcapacity and increasing competition from cheap imports from Asia and elsewhere that were putting pressure on the sector.

On top of the structural issues, Antwerp-Bruges highlighted complex regulations, slow permitting processes and high labor costs that were interfering with the willingness of businesses to invest.

“Port of Antwerp-Bruges and Port of Rotterdam are therefore pleading for a rapid implementation of the Clean Industrial Deal in the form of concrete measures and sufficient budgetary support to restore resilience and future prospects for European industry,” the Antwerp-Bruges statement noted.

The Clean Industrial Deal unveiled in February is a measure through which the European Commission intends to strengthen the competitiveness of European industry.

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe | Apr 22, 2025, 10:22 AM EDT