The port of Barcelona received the third most productive port in Europe award for the first half of 2014, marking the first time that a port from southern Europe has been ranked among the top three European ports for productivity, behind Bremerhaven and Rotterdam.
The award, received by Santiago Garcia-Mila, Deputy General Manager of Strategy and Business, was granted as part of the JOC Europe Port Performance Conference, organized by the Journal of Commerce (JOC) magazine in London on 19 and 20 November, World Maritime News reported Monday.
The prize was shared with the Port of Algeciras. The port of Barcelona has progressed from performing 41 movements per hour in 2012 to 78 movements per hour during the first half of this year, according to port productivity data.
“Productivity is a factor valued increasingly by shipping companies when choosing the ports in which they operate, particularly since the advent of ever-larger container ships mean that loading and unloading speeds directly affect the competitiveness of these companies,” the port said in a release.
The JOC report ranks ports based on the information supplied by the world’s principal shipping companies, which represent more than 75% of current global capacity.
Such operators have provided data on the loading and unloading movements of their ships in each port and terminal and the time these operations took at each terminal. They have taken stock of 150,000 berthing operations in more than 480 ports and 770 terminals on five continents.
The report shows that the top Asian ports and terminals dominate the top positions, while the Asian terminals are also considered the most productive.
Joblessness
The number of people registered as unemployed in Spain rose by nearly 80,000 in October compared with the previous month, suggesting a bump in the economy’s recovery but also due to seasonal factors.
The labor ministry said the number of those listed as out of work jumped by 79,154 to make a rounded total of 4.5 million.
It was the third consecutive monthly increase as the summer tourism season ended. Spain is recovering from two recessions, the last of which ended in late 2013. The economy has expanded in each of the past four quarters.
