It is hoped that a plan to alleviate congestion at nearby Soquence will also be incorporated into this. Trucks are fine for short distances, but for longer journeys, railways are cheaper and more efficient. Less pressing, are schemes to better manage port-bound lorry traffic around the city of Le Havre and to increase upstream river trade. The port was in a good position to begin this transformation. It had shrugged off the trade unions trouble that had dogged its recent history and had introduced high-tech equipment, all of which, he said, had helped to almost double productivity, Collardey said.
Competition is hard.
In Northern Europe you find between Le Havre and Hamburg, seven major ports, all within 500 miles, and they are competing against each other. That is why everybody at Le Havre is working hard to increase productivity.