The Port of Rotterdam holds an important position in the Dutch Economy. Inland navigation along the river Rhine; superior land infrastructure; sophisticated short-sea-shipping networks; and state-of-the-art logistics and EDI advancements consolidate the position of Rotterdam as the gateway to Europe. This is strengthened by the increasing number of East Asian countries opening trade centers in Rotterdam. An additional factor contributing to Rotterdam's attractiveness is that the combined purchasing power of more than 200 million consumers lies within 500 kilometers off the city.

The port is a pacesetter at the heart of the highly industrialised Rijnmond area that contributes with more than 7% to Dutch GDP. Over 300 million tons of cargo are handled each year by the port, making it the world's largest. In terms of containers too, the port is a market leader in Europe: in 2003, 7,106,778 containers were handled, compared to 6,138,000 in Hamburg and 5,445,437 in Antwerp. The port is by far the largest container hub port in Europe and the seventh largest in the world. The port of Rotterdam prides itself on the innovative spirit and high level of professionalism of its workforce. This has resulted in the development of state of the art container handling operations, such as the fully automated Delta Container Terminal with its Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), which are unique to the world guaranteeing ever increasing productivity and setting the pace for other container ports to follow!

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