IN Brief:
- Merchant haulage rail from APM Terminals Rotterdam will be unavailable from 1 July 2026 for around six months.
- The change is linked to expansion work at APM Terminals in the Port of Rotterdam.
- Maersk is advising customers to use barge on-carriage or truck alternatives during the affected period.
Maersk has warned customers of a temporary change to rail availability at APM Terminals Rotterdam, with merchant haulage rail services unavailable for around six months from 1 July 2026.
The change is linked to ongoing APM Terminals expansion work at the Port of Rotterdam. Rail services for merchant haulage will be unavailable during the affected period, while carrier haulage rail services will remain operational.
Services are currently expected to return from January 2027, with a more precise timeline to follow when available. For shipments arriving at APM Terminals Rotterdam, customers can arrange barge on-carriage to inland terminals or use truck transport as an alternative during the disruption.
The advisory gives shippers, forwarders, and inland logistics providers several weeks to adjust routing plans before the July start date. Rotterdam remains one of Europe’s most important container gateways, and changes to rail access can affect inland flows across the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and other connected markets.
The distinction between merchant haulage and carrier haulage will shape operational decisions. Customers controlling their own inland rail arrangements will need to assess alternatives, while carrier-managed rail services remain in place. That could change inland cost comparisons, booking behaviour, and the allocation of container flows between barge, road, and rail during the works.
Rotterdam’s competitiveness depends on quay, yard, and hinterland capacity working together. Expansion projects are needed to support future volume growth, but construction can create temporary constraints in the inland networks that shippers rely on once boxes leave the terminal.
Barge alternatives may absorb part of the affected volume, particularly for customers with established inland terminal connections. Road transport will provide flexibility but may introduce higher cost, emissions exposure, and capacity pressure depending on lane, equipment, and driver availability. Customers moving steady container volumes through Rotterdam will need to review routing, buffer time, and container return arrangements before rail capacity changes take effect.
The disruption will run across summer and autumn planning periods, when seasonal inventory movements and industrial input flows can increase pressure on terminals and inland transport. Securing alternative capacity early will be important for shippers with predictable flows, especially where delivery windows, plant schedules, or retail inventory plans depend on inland reliability.
Gateway ports are increasingly judged by the resilience of their inland options as much as their maritime capacity. Rail, barge, and road need to act as a flexible network rather than separate channels. The Rotterdam change will test how effectively shippers can switch between modes while terminal expansion work continues.
