Cost brake: Up to 40 percent cheaper via Port Constanța
LCL/FCL offer of a. hartrodt Romania is interesting for surrounding landlocked countries.
"Romania is a country of opportunity," says Silvia Poralo, Country Manager at a. hartrodt Romania in Bucharest. The Port of Constanța can be considered as a cost-effective alternative when the Mediterranean ports in Slovenia or Greece are congested, she says: "Depending on the type of cargo and services required, some customers can save 15 to 40 percent compared to shipping via Koper or Piraeus." The LCL/FCL offer of a. hartrodt Romania is interesting for Romania, Hungary, Ukraine and other surrounding inland countries. The hinterland transport is operated via the Danube or road. "We are currently setting up a trucking service," says Silvia Poralo.
Port of Constanța records all-time high throughput
The largest Black Sea port in Constanța reported a record throughput of 61.2 million tons in 2021, consolidating its position as a grain hub. 631,964 TEUs went across the quayside at Romanian seaports, with DP World's Constanta South Container Terminal (CSCT) in Agigea alone having approximately 1.2 million TEU capacity. According to Silvia Poralo, the main demand is for feeder services with Istanbul (Turkey), Piraeus, Poti (Georgia), Haifa (Israel) and Danube river traffic.
Team size increased from four to ten people
"Since May of this year, we have been growing, especially in ocean freight and air freight imports," Silvia Poralo reports. The Canadian with Ukrainian roots has worked in the freight forwarding business for 15 years, most recently 4.5 years as Ocean Operations Manager at a. hartrodt Canada in Toronto. Since July 2021, in her newly created position in Bucharest, she has been pursuing the goal of "driving sales and growing the number of shipments". She has increased the team size from four to ten people, focusing on sales. She plans to hire two more sales people by the end of the year. Previously, a. hartrodt managed the Romania activities in Hamburg, later from Prague.
In direct comparison with Canada, Silvia Poralo sees a need for optimization in Romania's transport infrastructure. In the mountainous country, the quality of the roads is "not very good" and rail transport is "practically non-existent", with some exceptions. Here she expects investments in the future.