International Freight in Belgium - Supporting the World Leader in Export

Author: Stephen Willis

Author: Stephen Willis

Belgium has what is known as an 'open economy' and has a long history of international trade and international freight going right back to the Middle Ages. Bruges and Antwerp were places where traders from right around the world came together. Bruges was the place where the 'stock market' originated and in the 16th Century, Antwerp became the centre of loans to countries worldwide. This long and illustrious history of international trade has spawned the establishment of a thriving freight services industry, made up of a dynamic network of shipping companies and freight forwarding businesses.

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, Belgian industrialists were key facilitators of opening up large and small countries worldwide. Because of the large proportion of international trade in GDP, and the large amount of foreign investment in Belgium, Belgium has been called the perfect example of an open economy. This has been consolidated by the large presence of international organisations in Belgium and the fact that their employees inject a large amount of money into the Belgian economy. Freight companies have been able to gear up and develop their businesses confident that the Belgian economy is robust and that the port infrastructure in Belgium is being developed and will continue to underpin the international freight market.

The average value of export and import of goods as a percentage of GDP is a staggering 83% which is the highest percentage out of all the countries in the European Union. Little wonder then that the freight transport sector in Belgium is so buoyant. What's more, Belgium also lays claim to the highest percentage of worldwide GDP accounted for by foreign direct investment.

Accounting for less than 0.2% of the world's population, Belgium nevertheless has a market share of 3.4% of exports and 3% of imports and is ranked tenth for international trade in goods. Belgium is in fact the world leader in terms of export per capita, so can truly lay claim to being a world leader in freight transport. Many a freight company and shipping company across the world has looked towards the freight services industry in order to learn from best practice.

Approximately 20% of Belgian exports involved in freight forwarding is made up of consumer goods. Intermediate goods make up 60%. These are mainly machines and equipment, which account for over 28% of exports and chemical and allied products account for almost 22% of international freight.

Belgium export international freight also include substantial numbers of cars as car assembly is an important sector in Belgium. Believe it or not, approximately 95% of the 900,000 cars assembled by Volvo, Opel, Volkswagen and Ford in Belgium are exported. Cars make up almost 15% of Belgian exports. Plastics make up around 3% whilst pharmaceutical products and organic chemical products make up around 5% each. Metals such as iron and steel and non ferrous metals make up over 4% and food stuffs make up almost 9%.

Other highlights within the freight transport market include the fact that Belgium is the world's largest exporter of diamonds and carpets and is the second largest exporter of plant fibres, chocolate and margarine. It is also the third largest world exporter of glass and the fourth largest in the export of eggs, non alcoholic drinks and cars.

Export to the other EU countries accounts for three quarters of all of Belgium's exports, so the freight transport channels and systems between these countries have been streamlined and maximised. European counties outside the EU account for a further 7%. Asia accounts for over 9% and the US about 5%. The high importance of trade with other European countries is brought into sharp focus by the fact that half of all the goods that are processed in the port of Antwerp come from or are going to other European countries.

At every level of the freight forwarding system, the freight services businesses, shipping companies and freight companies in Belgium are geared up to handle the high amount of freight transport created by Belgium's pre-eminent position in worldwide exports and imports.About the Author:

Stephen Willis is Managing Director of RW Freight Services a UK based freight transport company, established in 1971 and operating specialist freight services to and from Belgium

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