{
  "id": 10535517,
  "title": "The terminal congestion data nobody brought to the negotiation",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/the-terminal-congestion-data-nobody-brought-to-the-negotiation",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-28T21:00:57.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hellenic Shipping News",
    "slug": "hellenic-shipping-news",
    "url": "https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/the-terminal-congestion-data-nobody-brought-to-the-negotiation/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In negotiations, carriers often enter with average waiting times from their own terminals to discuss with the terminal. However, these numbers are often disputed because they come from different definitions and measurements. To address this, shared terminal performance data is beneficial. By comparing two competing ports in the Netherlands and Belgium using terminal activity data, it is revealed that the ports perform similarly most of the year. However, in July 2026, Belgium's average waiting time jumped to 42.6 hours, nearly double its June figure of 26.6 hours. This spike is concentrated at two specific terminals in Antwerp and Zeebrugge, with one call even lasting 245 hours. This data shows that the overall average can be misleading, and individual calls need to be examined to understand the true performance. When this independent terminal performance data is brought into the negotiation, the focus shifts from one carrier's log against another's to a shared record of terminal performance for every vessel. This change allows both sides to argue about what the data means for the rotation, SLA, or price, rather than disputing whose number is credible. Ultimately, this leads to a shorter and more resolvable negotiation.",
  "summary": "Carriers enter into rotation negotiations with a waiting time number. The terminal walks in with a different number. Neither was built to stand up from the scrutiny of the other side. That’s not a failure of either party, but rather a description of how terminal performance data has traditionally worked. Each side measures its own ...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}