<p data-path-to-node="2" id="p-rc_b68a9b707f5500e9-192" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="2" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">ROTTERDAM</b><span class="citation-334 citation-end-334" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"> — Demonstrating notable operational resilience amidst a highly volatile international trading environment, the Port of Rotterdam has reported a stable overall performance for the first half of 2026, registering a marginal year-on-year increase in total throughput despite ongoing geopolitical friction, fluctuating energy benchmarks, and supply chain bottlenecks.<source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c88832907="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><sup _ngcontent-ng-c88832907="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="2" style="line-height: 1.15 !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-color: transparent !important;"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span><sources-carousel-inline ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c2801529890="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"> <source-inline-chip _ngcontent-ng-c2801529890="" _nghost-ng-c3774318310="" class="ng-star-inserted" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></source-inline-chip><!----><!----><!----></sources-carousel-inline></p><h4 data-path-to-node="3" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b>Steady Throughput Amid Global Volatility</b></h4><p data-path-to-node="4" id="p-rc_b68a9b707f5500e9-193" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><span class="citation-333" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">According to financial and operational metrics released by the Port of Rotterdam Authority, total cargo throughput for H1 2026 reached </span><b data-path-to-node="4" data-index-in-node="135" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">212.0 million tonnes</b><span class="citation-333 citation-end-333" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">, marking a 0.4% increase compared to the same period in 2025.<source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c88832907="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><sup _ngcontent-ng-c88832907="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="3" style="line-height: 1.15 !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-color: transparent !important;"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span> <span class="citation-332 citation-end-332" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">While containerized freight and breakbulk sectors experienced minor contractions, robust gains in the liquid and dry bulk segments successfully buffered the European mega-gateway against external shocks.<source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c88832907="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><sup _ngcontent-ng-c88832907="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="4" style="line-height: 1.15 !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-color: transparent !important;"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span><sources-carousel-inline ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c2801529890="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"> <source-inline-chip _ngcontent-ng-c2801529890="" _nghost-ng-c3774318310="" class="ng-star-inserted" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></source-inline-chip><!----><!----><!----></sources-carousel-inline></p><p data-path-to-node="5" id="p-rc_b68a9b707f5500e9-194" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><span class="citation-331 citation-end-331" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Financial performance remained stable, with revenues increasing by 3.2% to €477.0 million and net income rising slightly to €144.8 million.<source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c88832907="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><sup _ngcontent-ng-c88832907="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="5" style="line-height: 1.15 !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-color: transparent !important;"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span> <span class="citation-330 citation-end-330" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">During the half-year window, the Port Authority continued capital allocation toward crucial decarbonization and infrastructure initiatives, investing €126.0 million.<source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c88832907="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><sup _ngcontent-ng-c88832907="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="6" style="line-height: 1.15 !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-color: transparent !important;"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span><sources-carousel-inline ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c2801529890="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"> <source-inline-chip _ngcontent-ng-c2801529890="" _nghost-ng-c3774318310="" class="ng-star-inserted" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></source-inline-chip><!----><!----><!----></sources-carousel-inline></p><h4 data-path-to-node="6" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b>Energy and Liquid Bulk Surge Driven by Middle Eastern Chokepoints</b></h4><p data-path-to-node="7" id="p-rc_b68a9b707f5500e9-195" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><span class="citation-329 citation-end-329" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">The most notable shifts occurred within the liquid and dry bulk sectors, heavily influenced by upstream energy adjustments and the fallout from the temporary closure of the Strait of Hormuz:<source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c88832907="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><sup _ngcontent-ng-c88832907="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="7" style="line-height: 1.15 !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-color: transparent !important;"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span><sources-carousel-inline ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c2801529890="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"> <source-inline-chip _ngcontent-ng-c2801529890="" _nghost-ng-c3774318310="" class="ng-star-inserted" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></source-inline-chip><!----><!----><!----></sources-carousel-inline></p><ul data-path-to-node="8" style="padding-inline-start: 32px; font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="8,0,0" id="p-rc_b68a9b707f5500e9-196" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><span class="citation-328" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"></span><b data-path-to-node="8,0,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Liquid Bulk Expansion:</b><span class="citation-328 citation-end-328" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"> Liquid bulk throughput rose by 2.4%, supported by a 1.6% increase in crude oil imports and an 11.5% jump in oil product throughput (reaching 25 million tonnes).<source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c88832907="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><sup _ngcontent-ng-c88832907="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="8" style="line-height: 1.15 !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-color: transparent !important;"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span> <span class="citation-327 citation-end-327" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">European refineries actively ramped up crude processing to compensate for constrained refined product imports originating from volatile West Asian trade lanes.<source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c88832907="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><sup _ngcontent-ng-c88832907="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="9" style="line-height: 1.15 !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-color: transparent !important;"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span><sources-carousel-inline ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c2801529890="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"> <source-inline-chip _ngcontent-ng-c2801529890="" _nghost-ng-c3774318310="" class="ng-star-inserted" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></source-inline-chip><!----><!----><!----></sources-carousel-inline></p></li><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="8,1,0" id="p-rc_b68a9b707f5500e9-197" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><span class="citation-326" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"></span><b data-path-to-node="8,1,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Dry Bulk Resilience:</b><span class="citation-326 citation-end-326" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"> Dry bulk volumes grew by 1.7%, underpinned by a 17.8% recovery in coking and thermal coal imports—bolstered by elevated European natural gas pricing—alongside an 18.5% increase in other dry bulk commodities driven by a domestic construction sector recovery in the Netherlands.<source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c88832907="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><sup _ngcontent-ng-c88832907="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="10" style="line-height: 1.15 !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-color: transparent !important;"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span><sources-carousel-inline ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c2801529890="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"> <source-inline-chip _ngcontent-ng-c2801529890="" _nghost-ng-c3774318310="" class="ng-star-inserted" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></source-inline-chip><!----><!----><!----></sources-carousel-inline></p></li></ul><h4 data-path-to-node="9" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b>Container Sector Dynamics and Transshipment Pressures</b></h4><p data-path-to-node="10" id="p-rc_b68a9b707f5500e9-198" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><span class="citation-325 citation-end-325" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Container throughput presented a mixed picture, dipping by 0.1% in TEU terms to 9.8 million TEUs and dropping 2.6% in tonnage to 98.5 million tonnes.<source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c88832907="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><sup _ngcontent-ng-c88832907="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="11" style="line-height: 1.15 !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-color: transparent !important;"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span><sources-carousel-inline ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c2801529890="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"> <source-inline-chip _ngcontent-ng-c2801529890="" _nghost-ng-c3774318310="" class="ng-star-inserted" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></source-inline-chip><!----><!----><!----></sources-carousel-inline></p><p data-path-to-node="11" id="p-rc_b68a9b707f5500e9-199" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><span class="citation-324 citation-end-324" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">While deep-sea import volumes from Asia grew by 5.2% in TEU terms (with Asian imports rising 8%), full container export volumes dipped by 1%, widening the structural imbalance between inbound and outbound flows.<source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c88832907="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><sup _ngcontent-ng-c88832907="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="12" style="line-height: 1.15 !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-color: transparent !important;"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span> <span class="citation-323 citation-end-323" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Furthermore, transshipment volumes fell by 20%, which port authorities explicitly attributed to tight terminal stacking capacities and a lack of available space during peak operational windows.<source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c88832907="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><sup _ngcontent-ng-c88832907="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="13" style="line-height: 1.15 !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-color: transparent !important;"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span> <span class="citation-322 citation-end-322" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Direct container traffic linked directly to Persian Gulf nations accounts for roughly 1% of Rotterdam's volume, minimizing direct exposure as logistics providers rapidly rerouted shipments through alternative regional corridors.<source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c88832907="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><sup _ngcontent-ng-c88832907="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="14" style="line-height: 1.15 !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-color: transparent !important;"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span><sources-carousel-inline ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c2801529890="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"> <source-inline-chip _ngcontent-ng-c2801529890="" _nghost-ng-c3774318310="" class="ng-star-inserted" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></source-inline-chip><!----><!----><!----></sources-carousel-inline></p><h4 data-path-to-node="12" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b>Leadership Outlook on Supply Chain Resilience</b></h4><p data-path-to-node="13" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">Reflecting on the port's performance amidst macro-level uncertainties, Boudewijn Siemons, Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, stated:</p><blockquote data-path-to-node="14" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="14,0" id="p-rc_b68a9b707f5500e9-200" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><i data-path-to-node="14,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">"<span class="citation-321" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">The closure of the Strait of Hormuz makes it clear how closely connected global trade and energy flows are. </span><span class="citation-319 citation-321" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"></span><span class="citation-319 citation-320 citation-321 citation-end-321" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Although direct impact on the operations and throughput in the port of Rotterdam has so far been limited, the higher <source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c88832907="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><sup _ngcontent-ng-c88832907="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="15" style="line-height: 1.15 !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-color: transparent !important;"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span><span class="citation-319 citation-320 citation-end-320" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">energy prices and increasing uncertainty has rocked the international market.<source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c88832907="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><sup _ngcontent-ng-c88832907="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="16" style="line-height: 1.15 !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-color: transparent !important;"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span><span class="citation-319" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"> </span><span class="citation-318 citation-319 citation-end-319" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">The events highlight the importance of robust supply chains and a strong European energy infrastruc<source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c88832907="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><sup _ngcontent-ng-c88832907="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="17" style="line-height: 1.15 !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-color: transparent !important;"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span><span class="citation-318" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">ture."</span></i><span class="citation-318 citation-end-318" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c88832907="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><sup _ngcontent-ng-c88832907="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="18" style="line-height: 1.15 !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-color: transparent !important;"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span><sources-carousel-inline ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c2801529890="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"> <source-inline-chip _ngcontent-ng-c2801529890="" _nghost-ng-c3774318310="" class="ng-star-inserted" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></source-inline-chip><!----><!----><!----></sources-carousel-inline></p></blockquote><p data-path-to-node="15" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">Port executives emphasize that as new terminal handling capacity comes online toward the end of the year, Rotterdam is well-positioned to clear regional bottlenecks and maintain its strategic role as Europe's primary commercial maritime anchor.</p>