Economic importance of the Belgian ports: Flemish maritime ports, Liège port complex and the port of Brussels – Report 2009

This paper is an annual publication issued by the Microeconomic Analysis service of the National Bank of Belgium. The Flemish maritime ports (Antwerp, Ghent, Oostende, Zeebrugge), the Autonomous Port of Liège and the port of Brussels play a major role in their respective regional economies and in the Belgian economy, not only in terms of industrial activity but also as intermodal centres facilitating the commodity flow. This update paper provides an extensive overview of the economic importance and development of the Flemish maritime ports, the Liège port complex and the port of Brussels in the period 2004 - 2009, with an emphasis on 2009. Focusing on the three major variables of value added, employment and investment, the report also provides some information about social balance and the financial situation in these ports as a whole. These observations are linked to a more general context, along with a few cargo statistics. Annual accounts data from the Central Balance Sheet Office were used for the calculation of direct effects, the study of financial ratios and the analysis of the social balance sheet. The indirect effects of the activities concerned were estimated in terms of value added and employment, on the basis of data from the National Accounts Institute. In terms of maritime cargo traffic, the downturn recorded during the last quarter of 2008 continued throughout 2009. Direct value added declined in all the ports in Flanders. Maritime branches as a whole contracted. Only the value added of the maritime branches in the port of Ostend remained stable. The non-maritime branches as a whole saw a contraction in all the Flemish ports. It was the port of Antwerp that suffered the most from the drop in the value added. Its maritime branches shrank by nearly one third. While the non-maritime branches were slightly down. The port of Ghent recorded a bigger decrease in the non-maritime branches. Conversely, the value added in the port of Zeebrugge fell more sharply in the maritime branches. Direct employment in the ports of Flanders as a whole declined during the year 2009. Except in Ghent, direct employment in the maritime branches fell in all the Flemish ports. Similarly, only one of them, the port of Ostend, recorded a rise in employment in the non-maritime branches. Thanks to this, it has been the only Flemish port to register direct employment growth. Investment decreased in all the ports in Flanders. The decline in investment was between one-sixth and one-fifth in the ports of Ghent, Antwerp and Zeebrugge. While Ostend recorded a cut of more than one third in its investment levels in 2009. The volume of cargo handled in the port of Liège decreased strongly in 2009. Direct value added and employment registered a significant decline. Maritime and non-maritime branches were down for both value added and employment. Thanks to the "other services" branch of activity, investment rose steadily. The volume of cargo handled at the port of Brussels declined in 2009. Value added in this port remained steady. But employment contracted slightly. After the growth seen in 2008, investment was down by more than a quarter. This report provides a comprehensive account of these issues, giving details for each economic sector, although the comments are confined to the main changes that occurred in 2009.branch survey, maritime cluster, subcontracting, indirect effects, transport intermodality, public investments

Economic importance of the Belgian ports: Flemish maritime ports, Liège port complex and the port of Brussels – Report 2007

This paper is an annual publication issued by the Microeconomic Analysis service of the National Bank of Belgium. The Flemish maritime ports (Antwerp, Ghent, Oostend, Zeebrugge), the Autonomous Port of Liège and the port of Brussels play a major role in their respective regional economies and in the Belgian economy, not only in terms of industrial activity but also as intermodal centres facilitating the commodity flow. This update paper provides an extensive overview of the economic importance and development of the Flemish maritime ports, the Liège port complex and the port of Brussels in the period 2002 - 2007, with an emphasis on 2007. Focusing on the three major variables of value added, employment and investment, the report also provides some information about social balance and the financial situation in these ports as a whole. These observations are linked to a more general context, along with a few cargo statistics. Annual accounts data from the Central Balance Sheet Office were used for the calculation of direct effects, the study of financial ratios and the analysis of the social balance sheet. The indirect effects of the activities concerned were estimated in terms of value added and employment, on the basis of data from the National Accounts Institute. [...] In terms of maritime cargo traffic, 2007 was another excellent year for all the Flemish maritime ports, driven by the expansion of world trade. Direct value added rose in all the ports in Flanders. Both maritime and non-maritime branches as a whole expanded. The ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge enjoyed particularly high growth in direct value added of their maritime branches, unlike the ports of Ostend and Ghent where growth was higher in the non-maritime branches. Direct employment also rose, albeit in less spectacularly: the more moderate growth of the biggest Flemish port - Antwerp - set the tone for the overall result. In this favourable economic environment, investment increased in the Flemish ports as a whole, after falling in 2006. The ports of Antwerp, Ostend and Ghent recorded very high levels of investment in 2007, although not reaching Antwerp's peak of 2005. The rise was more marked in the maritime branches, especially in the ports of Antwerp and Ostende, but the non-maritime branches also recorded strong expansion. With the completion of the Albert II dock, investment in the port of Zeebrugge levelled out, even though there are some other projects in progress. The volume of cargo handled in the port of Liège again increased in 2007. Direct value added recorded strong growth and employment picked up. Both these variables improved on the previous year's figures, thanks mainly to the metalworking and energy sectors. Investment doubled. A major factor behind this increase was the construction of a new bioethanol plant in Wanze. Despite these good results, the threat of declining activity in the ArcelorMittal factories in Liège has prompted the local port to pursue its strategy of diversifying traffic. Preparatory work on the land for the Trilogiport project began at the end of 2008. The volume of cargo handled at the port of Brussels rose in 2007. Despite the restrictions on the land available for port-related activities, both value added and employment in the port of Brussels increased. There was a notable fall in investment in the non-maritime branches with the completion of the water purification plant. However, the port authority is continuing with its infrastructure renovation work. The present report provides a comprehensive account of these issues, giving details per economic sector, though the comments are confined to the main changes that occurred in 2007branch survey, maritime cluster, subcontracting, indirect effects, transport intermodality, public investments

Conséquences de la forêt méditerranéenne sur les écoulements de crue - Synthèse des recherches menées en France

1 tableau ; 4 figuresTrois ensembles de bassins expérimentaux permettent d'étudier, en France méditerranéenne, les conséquences de la forêt sur les crues. Les résultats diffèrent de façon considérable d'un bassin à l'autre, montrant la complexité des relations pluies-débits. Il est à noter que l'augmentation des crues extrêmes est loin d'être avérée dans tous les cas. Une réflexion sur le fonctionnement hydrologique des bassins permet de lever la contradiction apparente entre les résultats observés

Economic importance of the Belgian ports: Flemish maritime ports, Liège port complex and the port of Brussels - Report 2015. National Bank of Belgium Working Paper No. 321

This paper is an annual publication issued by the Microeconomic Analysis service of the National Bank of Belgium. The Flemish maritime ports (Antwerp, Ghent, Ostend, Zeebrugge), the Autonomous Port of Liège and the port of Brussels play a major role in their respective regional economies and in the Belgian economy, not only in terms of industrial activity but also as intermodal centers facilitating the commodity flow. This update paper1 provides an extensive overview of the economic importance and development of the Flemish maritime ports, the Liège port complex and the port of Brussels for the period 2010 - 2015, with an emphasis on 2015. Focusing on the three major variables of value added, employment and investment, the report also provides some information based on the social balance sheet and an overview of the financial situation in these ports as a whole. These observations are linked to a more general context, along with a few cargo statistics. Annual accounts data from the Central Balance Sheet Office were used for the calculation of direct effects, the study of financial ratios and the analysis of the social balance sheet. The indirect effects of the activities concerned were estimated in terms of value added and employment, on the basis of data from the National Accounts Institute. As a result of the underlying calculation method the changes of indirect employment and indirect value added can differ from one another. The developments concerning economic activity in the six ports in 2014 - 2015 are summarized in the table on the next page. In 2015 the growth of maritime traffic in the Flemish maritime ports was due to developments in the port of Antwerp and the port of Ghent. Direct value added increased in all Flemish maritime ports in 2015. However, direct employment is continuing to decline. Investment was down everywhere except in the port of Zeebrugge. Cargo traffic in the Liège port complex declined in 2015, whereas it slightly slowed down in the port of Brussels. At the same time, direct value added in Liège shrank while it rose sharply in the port of Brussels. By contrast, direct employment was down in both ports. This report provides a comprehensive account of these issues, giving details for each economic sector, although the comments are confined to the main changes that occurred in 2015

The economic importance of the Belgian ports: Flemish maritime ports, Liège port complex and the port of Brussels – Report 2016. National Bank of Belgium Working Paper No. 342

This Working Paper analyses the economic importance of the Belgian ports based largely on the annual accounts data for the year 2016. As the years prior to 2016 have been described in earlier papers in the same series, we mainly focus on the figures for 2016 and developments between 2015 and 2016. On the back of strong growth, direct value added in the Belgian ports remained more or less stable in 2016 at around € 18 000 million (current prices) or roughly 4.3% of Belgium’s GDP. Direct value added declined in the Flemish seaports, mainly in the port of Antwerp. Ghent and Zeebrugge could only partly compensate for the fall in Antwerp’s value added, while Ostend showed a small decline itself. The inland ports as a whole grew over the period 2015-2016; the port of Brussels registered a decline and the Liège port complex an increase. Indirect value added is around 82% of the direct figure. After declining from 2012, direct employment in the Belgian ports was more or less stable in 2016 at around 115 000 FTE or approximately 2.8% of Belgium’s total domestic employment. Direct employment in the Flemish seaports increased, mainly in the ports of Zeebrugge, Ghent and Antwerp. Ostend showed a decline in employment. The inland ports recorded lower employment; the port of Brussels registered a decline, as did the Liège port complex. Indirect employment is around 1.2 times the direct figure. Delving deeper into the data and trying to explain the above trends in terms of the structural composition of the Belgian ports shows that all ports are concentrated on a few sectors, and within those sectors often on just a handful of companies. Based on the figures of the traffic, the Flemish ports can be considered as real bridgeheads for trade with the UK. Developments regarding the modalities and consequences of the Brexit therefor should be followed with the greatest attention. Given the existing import and export volumes in terms of tonnage, it seems it will mostly be a challenge in Zeebrugge and to some extent for Antwerp

Importance economique des ports belges: Ports maritimes flamands, complexe portuaire liégeois et port de Bruxelles. Rapport 2007. = Economic importance of the Belgian ports: Flemish maritime ports, Liège port complex and the port of Brussels. Report 2007. NBB Working Paper 172, July 2009

The National Bank of Belgium publishes an annual update of the study of the economic importance of the Flemish maritime ports - Antwerp, Ghent, Ostend and Zeebrugge - the port of Brussels and the Liège port complex. Each port’s contribution to the national economy is estimated on the basis of the analysis of its economic, social and financial situation over the period from 2002 to 2007. The three variables concerned in the main developments are value added, employment and investment. This study also highlights the port sector’s indirect effects in terms of value added and employment. The social balance sheet is briefly summarised in one section. The analysis of the financial results is based on the study of the return on equity, liquidity and solvency ratios, and a synthetic indicator of financial health

Economic importance of the Belgian ports: Flemish maritime ports, Liège port complex and the port of Brussels: Report 2012

This paper is an annual publication issued by the Microeconomic Analysis service of the National Bank of Belgium. The Flemish maritime ports (Antwerp, Ghent, Ostend, Zeebrugge), the Autonomous Port of Liège and the port of Brussels play a major role in their respective regional economies and in the Belgian economy, not only in terms of industrial activity but also as intermodal centers facilitating the commodity flow. This update paper provides an extensive overview of the economic importance and development of the Flemish maritime ports, the Liège port complex and the port of Brussels for the period 2007 - 2012, with an emphasis on 2012. Focusing on the three major variables of value added, employment and investment, the report also provides some information based on the social balance sheet and an overview of the financial situation in these ports as a whole. These observations are linked to a more general context, along with a few cargo statistics. Annual accounts data from the Central Balance Sheet Office were used for the calculation of direct effects, the study of financial ratios and the analysis of the social balance sheet. The indirect effects of the activities concerned were estimated in terms of value added and employment, on the basis of data from the National Accounts Institute. As a result of the underlying calculation method the changes of indirect employment and indirect value added can differ from one another. (...) Following the 2009 decline and the improvement in 2011, maritime traffic in the Flemish ports began falling again in 2012. That applies to all the Flemish ports. Value added was rising in the maritime cluster of the Flemish ports and falling in the non-maritime cluster where trade and industry were in decline. Direct value added has risen in the ports of Antwerp and Ostend whereas it has fallen in the ports of Zeebrugge and Ghent. Conversely, direct employment was expanding in both clusters in the Flemish ports viewed as a whole and in each port taken individually. The decline in investment in the Flemish ports continued in 2012. That trend is evident in all the Flemish ports except the port of Ostend where investment was maintained in 2012. The volume of cargo handled in the port of Liège decreased in 2012. Direct value added and employment contracted in both clusters. The steel giant ArcelorMittal had idled two blast furnaces at the site in Liege. Investment increased in both clusters in the Liège port complex. The volume of cargo handled at the port of Brussels declined in 2012. Value added and employment in the maritime cluster fell but rose in the non-maritime cluster. The drop in investment recorded since 2009 continued throughout 2012, albeit at a slowing pace. This report provides a comprehensive account of these issues, giving details for each economic sector, although the comments are confined to the main changes that occurred in 2012. Document type: Boo

The hydrological impact of the mediterranean forest: a review of French research

2 tableaux ; 8 figuresInternational audienceForest hydrology studies carried out in France have focused mainly on the Mediterranean part of the country. Three experimental catchments groups exist and have been monitored over a long period. Some forested catchment (Draix catchment) underwent no change during the study period, while others experienced either clear cutting (Lozère catchment) or forest fires (part of the Réal Collobrier catchments). In each case studied, the behaviour of the forested catchment was compared to that of a control catchment. Included with the experimental catchments studies are the results of research with a fundamentally different approach. The research is based on a statistical study of the interrelated development of afforestation rates and runoff characteristics for average-sized catchments (around 100 km2) in that part of the southern French Massif Central which is subject to Mediterranean rainfall conditions. The results differ considerably from one site to another, indicating the degree of complexity of the rainfall/discharge relationship. An increase in extreme flood events due to forest disturbance could by no means be confirmed in every case. A closer look at the hydrological behaviour of the catchments cleared up the apparent inconsistencies. It is mainly the contrast between bare soil and vegetated soil, rather than between forest and other types of vegetation witch is relevant in explaining the hydrological behaviour