KN pulls out of inland terminal

Logistics giant Kuehne & Nagel (KN) has ended its contract with Associated British Ports (ABP) to operate an intermodal facility at ABP’s Hams Hall terminal in the UK after just three years.

KN took over around 50% of the ABP facility in 2007 and announced it would invest £2.5m as part of a "multi-year contract" with the port operator. RTG cranes were introduced to replace a reachstacker operation and KN initially ran three daily block train services to the terminal, two from Southampton and one from Felixstowe, running six days a week.

However, responding to a question as KN delivered its annual results last week, Diederick de Vroet (pictured), KN senior VP for seafreight, told Cargo Systems that the contract had ended due to lack of demand. "The terminal was set up at a time when there was congestion in sea ports and that situation has clearly changed due to decline in volumes," he explained.

Despite KN pulling out, ABP has reported that its Hams Hall terminal last year had its most successful year to date with 15 new weekly train services added.

KN saw 4.6% volume decline in seafreight volumes in 2009, compared with a 12% overall market decline in seafreight. The firm’s Ebitda margin in seafreight increased from 4.6% in 2008 to 5% last year, while the operational result decreased by 17.9%.