Economic importance of the Flemish maritime ports: Report 2002

TABLE 16 SUMMARY OF CHANGES IN VALUE ADDED AT GHENT FROM 1995 TO 2002(continued)(millions of euros)Sectors(indirect effects 46 )1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Relativeshare in2002(in p.c.)Changefrom 1995to 2002(in p.c.)Annualaveragechange(in p.c.)Total maritime............... 203.1 203.8 222.2 204.3 243.3 193.4 195.0 217.8 6.3 7.2 1.0Total non-maritime....... 2,211.9 2,340.0 2,409.1 2,609.2 2,825.3 2,826.3 3,082.1 3,250.0 93.7 46.9 5.7Indirect effects.............. 2,415.0 2,543.8 2,631.2 2,813.5 3,068.5 3,019.7 3,277.0 3,467.7 100.0 43.6 5.3Total value added......... 5,092.6 5,279.7 5,211.8 5,718.9 5,739.8 5,917.8 6,087.0 6,410.7 - 25.9 3.3Source: NBB.General changesThe total VA associated with the port of Ghent grew by 25.9 p.c. from 1995 to 2002, i.e. an increase of 3.3 p.c. onaverage per annum (table 16). This increase was largely attributable to subcontracting, since the indirect VAincreased over the same period by 43.6 p.c. (+ 5.3 p.c. as an annual average), while the direct VA only grew by9.9 p.c. (+ 1.4 p.c. as an annual average). The largest increases in direct and total VA occurred in 1998 (12.6 p.c.and 9.7 p.c. respectively). 2002 was a positive year for production at Ghent, with the total VA rising by 5.3 p.c.Direct VA for these companies amounted to 2.9 billion euro. Total VA accounted for 6.4 billion euro if indirecteffects are included.The ratio of indirect VA to direct VA reached 117.8 p.c. in 2002, which is slightly more than the figure recorded in1999 (114.9 p.c.), a record year for the ports on average. To explain this high figure, the VA of the Ghent shippingcompanies was in fact marked in 1999 by high growth: this is a sector which is strongly dependent onsubcontracting. After a decline in the trend towards outsourcing seen in 2000, accompanied by a fall in productionin the car manufacturing and shipping companies sectors, it seems therefore that the following years were onceagain marked by an increase in this trend at the port of Ghent.Changes by cluster in direct effectsFrom 1995 to 2002, the direct VA at the port of Ghent rose by 1.4 p.c. on average per annum. The industry andwholesale trade segments accounted for the largest shares of this total (67.6 and 20.3 p.c. respectively). Themaritime cluster, the logistics services and transport segments are further down the list. In spite of its minorimportance, the transport segment was the one which recorded the largest increase in annual average VA(+ 8.3 p.c.). The wholesale trade segment recorded its largest rise in 1998 (+ 34.9 p.c.) and its sharpest fall thepreceding year (- 23.8 p.c.). Industrial production continued to grow and the most marked rise was in 2000(+ 11.4 p.c.). The largest increase in VA at the port of Ghent (+ 12.6 p.c. in 1998) was due above all to theexpansion of the wholesale trade and logistics services segments. 2002 produced a 4.7 p.c. rise in direct VA,while wholesale trade declined by 3.8 p.c., industry gained 7.5 p.c. and the maritime cluster recovered by 5.9 p.c.Changes by sector in direct effectsIt is the metal-working and car manufacturing industries and the other services which carry the greatest weight interms of VA at the port of Ghent. The chemicals and energy industries, cargo handling and other industries alsocontributed, but to a lesser extent. The largest increase in port production at Ghent was recorded in 1998: in thatyear, the VA of the other services sector saw a major growth (particularly in the wholesale trade, see table 16).After very average years, a recovery began in 2000 in the chemicals and energy industries (+ 26.5 and 25.7 p.c.respectively), partly offset by the fall in cargo handling (- 6.7 p.c.). This growth trend continued into 2002, thesecond year after 1998 in terms of a rise in direct VA, with a rate of 4.7 p.c. The VA consequently exceeded2.9 billion euro.At the port of Ghent, the major changes recorded in 2002 for the direct VA in the main sectors were as follows:• The metal-working industry recorded its highest growth (+ 33.0 p.c.) with VA amounting to 726 million euro.The Sidmar VA rose by 38 p.c. to reach 616 million euro: the company completed its tests which aimed atmore environmentally friendly steel production;• The VA in the car manufacturing increased by 1.0 p.c., with the direct VA for this sector amounting to516 million euro. Volvo Cars Gent saw its VA remain identical to that for 2001 (312.8 million euro);46The breakdown of the indirect effects by sector for the period 1995 - 1999 can be found in annex 5 (table 51).34 NBB WORKING PAPER No.56 - JUNE 2004