Shipping to the Netherlands through Amsterdam

Many ports have history, but few have the history that the port of Amsterdam has. It’s been operating continuously for nine centuries. Serving the Dutch East India Company during European exploration of the planet, it became the most important port in Europe in the 1600s and 1700s. During this time, it employed more people than every other port in Europe put together. It may have shipped more goods than every other European port put together. When shipping to the Netherlands today, though, chances are your goods will go through a different port: Rotterdam.

All-Weather Terminal

Rotterdam is now the Netherlands’ primary cargo port. Amsterdam is no slouch, though. It boasts a rare all-weather terminal designed for specialty cargo: goods that are sensitive to temperature and weather. This also means personnel with specialized training for protecting this cargo. It may include scientific or medical cargo, or simply foodstuffs.

International Car Shipping

Amsterdam is also more focused on international car shipping. If you’re shipping your car to the Netherlands, there’s a good chance it goes through Amsterdam. Rotterdam is more focused on traditional containerized cargo.

Construction Equipment Shipping

The port of Amsterdam also excels at construction equipment shipping. Amsterdam itself saw a housing shortage a few years ago, in 2015. Since then, thousands of new homes have been built, driving a construction equipment shipping surge through the port.

Two Ports with Two Strengths

Though Rotterdam handles more cargo, Amsterdam has many specialties that it serves when shipping to the Netherlands. This makes the country’s capabilities diverse. They have a port designed toward handling high volume in Rotterdam, at 450 million tons of cargo a year. Then they have a port that still handles 97 million tons of cargo annually but is designed toward specialty and sensitive goods. This specialized approach makes shipping your car to the Netherlands, construction equipment shipping, and specialty cargo shipping go much more smoothly.

That’s not bad for a port that first started operating in the 1200s.