BMI: Spain - DP World Invests In Tarragona, But Will The Lines Come?

Dubai-based port operator DP World has completed the first phase of its development of the container terminal at the Spanish port of Tarragona. BMI warns that throughput growth following the upgrade is not assured as Spain's economic outlook looks bleak and consumers are most likely to bear the brunt.

Three Super Post-Panamax cranes have been added to DP World Tarragona, with a capacity of 13,800 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per annum. The cranes are part of DP World's initiative at its newest facility in Europe to expand the terminal's capacity to 1.5mn TEUs per annum through an investment of EUR50mn. DP World acquired the concession for the terminal in 2008.

Tarragona offered DP World entry into Spain's maritime sector and bolstered the company's European Mediterranean presence; DP already has operations on France's Mediterranean coast at Fos and Marseille. The port has huge potential as it is a deepwater facility, with road and rail connections to Spain's major cities of Barcelona, Valencia and Madrid. Tarragona also offers some of the best refrigerated warehouses and logistics operations in Spain, according to DP World.

BMI fears that the port's development will not bear fruit immediately for DP World, as although the facility is being upgraded, question marks remain over whether the clients will come. DP World's Europe, Africa, Middle East operations have suffered a tough couple of years. Although year-to-date (YTD) (first nine months of 2010) figures show that container volumes at DP World's operations in these regions are up 7.28% year-on-year (y-o-y), this is a weak recovery compared with that seen in the Asia Pacific and Indian Subcontinent region, which rebounded by 20.7%, and DP World's facilities in the Americas and Australia region, which were up 27.2% y-o-y.

DP World's Europe, Africa, Middle East operations have fallen behind those in the Asia Pacific and Indian Subcontinent region in terms of volumes handled in the YTD, with the regions handling 16.2mn and 16.3mn tonnes respectively. DP World's Europe, Africa, Middle East operations once dominated the company's throughput volume breakdown.

BMI predicts that 2010 is set to be another year of contraction for the Spanish economy, which will have a negative effect on container volumes at the nation's ports. We forecast that real GDP will shrink by 0.6% this year, and we project meagre growth of just 0.9% in 2011. We believe that a long and painful deflationary period will be necessary to bring down wages and asset-price levels in line with the country's macroeconomic realties. This is bad news for Spain's container shipping sector, which is tied to consumer demand.

The one bright point is that the Spain's net exports, which we consider offer the only component of GDP supportive of economic growth, should help the container sector weather the downturn. We project that exports will increase by 5.5% in 2010, which should be enough for growth container throughput at Spain's ports to turn positive.

BMI's Freight Transport Reports feature market assessment and independent 5-year forecasts, covering commercial transport and logistics by road, rail, air and water, market share for each transport mode, infrastructural developments, and traded goods volumes driving sector growth. The impact of regulatory changes and the background macroeconomic outlook are analysed, and competitive landscapes are provided assessing multinational and national operators, freight providers, couriers and agents by sales, market share, investments, projects, partners and expansion strategies.

To the BMI Freight Transport Reports:
http://www.reports-research.com/market-surveys/market-surveys-business-monitor-international-limited-automotive-transport-mrp-358-1.html

BMI: More market data and market reports:
http://www.reports-research.com/market-surveys/business-monitor-international-limited-m-358.html

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