The three major European ports are blocked again!The delivery of large-scale engineering goods may b

The recent congestion in northern European ports has not completely subsided, and the pressure has been further transmitted from container terminals to land-side transportation links such as barges, roads, and railways.For large engineering cargo, steel, machinery and equipment, and general cargo, what really affects delivery is not just "whether the ship can dock at the port," but also whether the cargo is smoothly transshipped after it docks.The current situation in Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg is not exactly the same, but what they have in common is that schedule fluctuations, terminal yard pressure, river barge queues and lack of landside capacity are adding up to each other.01 Rotterdam: Terminal pressure superimposes barge congestion. Rotterdam still has obvious landside transportation pressure.The port operation update released by Kuehne+Nagel on July 21, 2026 shows that the seven-day average ship waiting time in Rotterdam is about 1.71 days, the density of the terminal yard is high, the congestion of inland barges continues to affect port operations, and the reception of some empty containers is also subject to periodic restrictions.There is no single blockage factor that causes stress.On the one hand, the adjustment of shipping schedules and the concentration of ships arriving at the port will cause peak operations at the terminal; on the other hand, when the waiting time for barges increases, it will be difficult to transfer goods out of the terminal in time, further occupying the yard space.Rotterdam Port officials are also continuing to publish port performance indicators, including anchorage waiting time, ship time in port and terminal operation efficiency, indicating that the port is continuously monitoring shipping schedule stability and operation efficiency.Judging from the current data, the main risks in Rotterdam are more concentrated on the landside and barge links, and it will be difficult to return to a completely smooth state in the short term; if inland water transportation continues to be affected by low water levels, the pressure may be further prolonged.02 Antwerp: Shipping schedules, terminals and inland transportation are under pressure at the same time. Antwerp’s current congestion performance is more complicated.Recent data from Kuehne+Nagel shows that the seven-day average ship waiting time in Antwerp was about 1.03 days. Some terminals had high utilization rates, and crane maintenance affected the queues of feeder ships and barges.On August 11, Zuidnatie, a local logistics operator in Antwerp, issued another notice saying that the superposition of multiple events was causing port operation challenges and reminded customers of possible delays.Data for the first half of 2026 released by the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in July also showed that the port's total cargo throughput fell by 2.4% year-on-year, and traditional breakbulk throughput fell by 11.7%.The port attributed this to factors including weak European industrial demand, U.S. steel import tariffs, energy and logistics costs, and CBAM and EU import quotas.This means that the current situation in Antwerp is not simply "congestion caused by too much cargo", but operational disturbances and market weakness coexist.Therefore, whether Antwerp can be significantly relieved in the future depends on the resumption of terminal operations, the re-stabilization of shipping schedules, and the simultaneous recovery of barge and land transport capacity.The latest operation notice in August still indicates delays, and it is not yet confirmed that congestion will completely disappear in the short term.03 Hamburg: The land side is still weak. Entering August, the risk of European inland water transport has increased significantly.The water level of the Rhine River continues to decline, which has begun to directly affect the hinterland transportation of German and Nordic ports.Reuters reported on August 9 that the water level in the Kaub River section may drop to single digits, and some shipping activities will be difficult to maintain; follow-up reports from August 11 to 12 showed that cargo ships have been suspended and stranded in some sections of the Rhine River, and companies have begun to increase rail and road transportation.More importantly, there is no definite sign of a quick end to this problem.Reuters reported on August 11 that some companies are worried that low water levels will continue until October; many German states have temporarily relaxed Sunday truck bans to make up for the decline in inland water transport capacity.Therefore, even if congestion in seaport terminals eases, transport from the European hinterland may still become a new bottleneck.04 Hamburg: The terminal pressure is not as prominent as in Rotterdam, but the landside is still short. The current situation in Hamburg is different from that in Rotterdam and Antwerp.Kuehne+Nagel’s operational update on July 21 showed that the seven-day average ship waiting time in Hamburg was about 1.24 days, but the terminal utilization rate was still high, and inland transportation continued to be affected by railway network capacity constraints and infrastructure modernization projects.Data for the first half of 2026 released by the Port of Hamburg on August 13 showed that the total port throughput was 56.1 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 3.1%, reflecting that current market demand and port operations are still under pressure.In addition, CTB automation transformation is still an important variable in terminal operations.For project cargo and breakbulk cargo, Hamburg is currently more concerned about the efficiency of rail, road and terminal connections rather than simply waiting for berths.
05 Industry Observation Judging from the current public data, the waiting times of ships in Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg have not all reached the level of "seriously out of control", but there is still continued pressure in terminal yards, barges, railways and highways.Therefore, this round of European port congestion is more likely to manifest as "partial relief and landside relay" rather than a one-time end in the short term.For large-scale engineering cargo, steel products, machinery and equipment, and general cargo exported from China, it is necessary to pay more attention to the complete transportation chain "from port to final destination" in the near future.Especially for goods destined for the inland areas of Germany and the Benelux, barge, rail and truck resources should be confirmed in advance and extra transshipment time should be reserved.If the low water level of the Rhine River persists, the impact of port congestion may be further prolonged.