HPC completes profitability report on operations of intermodal terminal Cologne North

HPC Hamburg Port Consulting, the leading logistics consultancy for seaports and the associated hinterland carriers and logistics chains, was hired in 2022 by HGK Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln KG (HGK) to conduct a profitability analysis for the Cologne North intermodal traffic rail terminal. The analysis made a fundamental contribution to the now completed transfer of terminal operations to HUPAC SA.

As a provider of logistics solutions for rail and ship, HGK operates a total of three terminals on the Rhine in Cologne as well as a rail network that connects the city with international intermodal logistics hubs. As a public investor, HGK is making a significant contribution to the city of Cologne's infrastructural provision of public services by successfully completing the second phase of construction at the new bimodal intermodal terminal, Cologne North. The terminal has a capacity of up to 130,000 TEU.

Based on a tender, HGK commissioned traffic consultancy company HPC to carry out a comprehensive profitability analysis. The analysis was intended to be from the perspective of both investors and operators and to serve as the basis of calculating the amount of the lease to be charged for a future investor. The tender of the intermodal operator complies with the requirements of the “Funding guidelines for handling facilities in combined transport” of non-state companies.

“By transferring the terminal to a competent and high-performing partner with its own intermodal rail products within Europe, we can significantly contribute to shifting more freight transport from the roads in the Cologne area to the more climate-friendly rail and waterways,” says Mr. Norbert Di Raimondo, who led the placement project at HGK. “In addition to key operational indicators, the placement criteria were mainly defined by qualitative, macroeconomic sustainability criteria for the northern Cologne region, which were set during the processing stage.”

“The analysis and assessment of intermodal infrastructure and its integration into existing supply chains over the entire life cycle of cargo handling facilities and against the background of a dynamic market development is one of the core competencies of our consultancy services,” says Hartmut Beyer, authorised signatory at HPC and expert on market development of intermodal transport. “We are delighted to have been able to win the tender through our holistic approach – meaning the market study, the profitability analysis, the evaluation of the macroeconomic effects as well as the consulting on funding, all from a single source.  We extend our gratitude to HGK for their trust.”

With more than 45 years of consultancy experience, HPC is a firmly established name in the domestic logistics community. It works with a close-knit network of companies active in the intermodal traffic system. With over 120 completed projects in rail-based handling of goods around the world, HPC has made a major contribution to the development of this transport sector. In the area of funding consultation, HPC can count involvement in over 50 projects pertaining to funding acquisition at the domestic and European level.