Port of Rotterdam as World's Busiest Port

Rotterdam's long lead showed how a port at the mouth of a major river system can become the gateway for a whole continent. Cargo landed there moves on by barge along the Rhine, and by rail and truck into Germany and beyond, so the port became central to European distribution. It was overtaken in 2004 by Singapore, and later by Shanghai and other Chinese ports, as Asian manufacturing and trade grew. For brands selling in Europe, Rotterdam remains a common first port of entry, and many place European distribution centers in the Netherlands or Belgium to serve several countries from one inventory pool.

• Distribution CenterDCWarehouse that ships cases and pallets
• Intermodal FreightFreight moved by rail and truck in one box
• Port of EntryWhere imports clear US customs

• Hanseatic League1356–1669 · German towns dominate Baltic and North Sea trade
• Dutch East India Company (VOC)1602–1799 · A Dutch company gets a monopoly on trade with Asia
• Sea-Land Transatlantic Container Service1966 · Regular container service opens to Europe

1. Port of Rotterdam (Wikipedia) en.wikipedia.org
2. Shanghai now world's busiest port (Port Strategy) portstrategy.com