Everything you need to know about the industrial-port zones [Detailed guide]

Today, 90% of the goods transported in the world use the seas and oceans. The volume of global maritime freight represented 2,605 million tons in 1970, and reached 11,076 million tons in 2019. It quickly became necessary to create large ports capable of receiving these goods and exporting others. : this role is today assumed by vast industrial-port zones, or ZIP.

What are the main ZIPs located on French territory? What are their functions and specialties? The essentials to remember with XP LOG, the benchmark for logistics solutions in the port area of ​​Le Havre.

What is an industrial-port zone?

Industrial-port zones are more commonly called ZIPs. They can be defined as spaces combining port and industrial activities. The concept appeared shortly after the Second World War, first in Japan: the notion retained was then that of “MIDA”, for Maritime Industrial Development Areas.

The majority of ZIPs are located on a sea coast and in natural estuaries. This is the case of Le Havre and Saint-Nazaire. Others may also develop along inland waterways and wide-gauge canals. For example, the ZIP of Antwerp in Belgium extends on the right bank of the Scheldt and has benefited from the flows generated by this very commercial axis.

In France, the main ZIPs were created thanks to the economic development of the 1960s:

• The first French ZIP was officially that of Dunkirk, founded in 1963;
• It was followed by Fos-sur-Mer in 1968;
• The Le Havre ZIP, for its part, was created in 1972.

The traffic is most often done by maritime containers for maritime flows. However, containers can also be loaded onto trains or trucks. The ZIPs are a real interface zone between the sea and the continent. Their development illustrates the coastalization of industrial activities.

Good to know

• The largest ZIP in the world is located in Shanghai;
• The largest European ZIP is the port of Rotterdam.

What is an industrial-port zone used for?

An industrial-port zone can host a wide variety of economic activities:

• Receive, deliver and store goods;
• Host heavy industries (refineries, metallurgy, chemicals) or groups of companies specializing in import-export and international logistics. The chemical and oil industry, for example, represents a key sector for the Dunkirk ZIP;
• Transform raw or semi-raw products;
• Build and launch new ships in a shipyard, as in Saint-Nazaire.

A ZIP can also accommodate passenger traffic, to a lesser extent than freight traffic.

Finally, the diversity of activities on a ZIP is illustrated by the various terminals that can be fitted out. This includes :

• Gas terminals;
• Oil terminals;
• Container terminals (various goods);
• Bulk terminals (bulk raw materials, etc.).

These port facilities are crucial for the efficient management of logistics flows on time.

What are the industrial-port zones in France?

France has a total of four major industrial-port areas on its metropolitan territory. Among them, three cover the western seaboard of the country: Nantes-Saint-Nazaire on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, Le Havre in the heart of the English Channel and finally Dunkirk at the gates of the North Sea.

The development of these three major industrial centers is part of the strategy of decentralization to the west and regional planning initiated by the French State in the 1960s.

The industrial port area of ​​Le Havre

The port of Le Havre is today the 5th European port and the first French port for container traffic, with a volume of 102.8 million tonnes of goods exchanged in 2021.

The ports of Le Havre, Rouen and Paris, united under the HAROPA banner since 2012, have constituted since June 1, 2021 the “major river-sea port of the Seine axis”.

HAROPA Port is distinguished in particular by:

• A cumulative area of ​​16,000 hectares (including Rouen and Paris);
• The establishment of more than 2,600 industrial and commercial establishments;
• Approximately 2.5 million square meters of warehouses;
• Approximately 5,000 hectares of surface area preserved for biodiversity.

The industrial-port zone of Marseille-Fos

The facilities of the Marseille-Fos industrial-port area extend over 70 kilometers, from the old port to the mouth of the Rhône. The ZIP has the capacity to accommodate and process all types of flows: hydrocarbons, liquid bulk, general cargo, solid bulk and passengers...

The Marseille-Fos ZIP is made up of two distinct areas:

• The eastern basins are located in Marseille and extend over 400 hectares. In particular, they ensure the function of a local port for passengers and goods.
• The western basins constitute the largest part of the port (10,000 hectares). Located in Fos-sur-Mer, they accommodate the largest container ships and concentrate a large part of the international maritime traffic on the Mediterranean coast.

The industrial port area of ​​Nantes – Saint-Nazaire

4th largest French seaport in terms of traffic volume, Nantes – Saint-Nazaire had a total of 18.8 million tonnes handled in 2021. It ranks first among the ports on the Atlantic coast. The Nantes ZIP is a multimodal platform connected to diversified means of transport such as rail, river (via the Loire), land routes and air.

Nantes stands out, among other things, as the leading agri-food port in France. This industrial port is also a leader in cutting-edge fields such as renewable marine energies and XXL industrial logistics.

The Dunkerque industrial-port area

The industrial port area of ​​Dunkirk is located in the center of the Brussels / London / Paris triangle and on the shores of the North Sea. This prime location places Dunkirk along the busiest sea route in the world, with an average traffic of 600 ships per day. The port can receive all types of goods and the largest ships.

The ZIP extends over a total length of 17 kilometers and comprises two main basins:

• The East port is the oldest and can accommodate medium-sized vessels, with a maximum draft of 14.2 metres;
• The West port is more recent and has sufficient capacity for large container ships or LNG carriers, with a maximum draft of 22 meters.

French industrial-port zones: a summary table

You will find below a summary of the major industrial-port areas in France and their main characteristics:

Volume of goods in 2021 (million tons)

Creation date

Type of traffic

Containers

Ro-Ro

Solid bulk

Liquid bulk

Conventional

Cars

agri-food

hydrocarbon

bulk carriers
containerized
ro-ro

Ores and coal

Fruit in containers

Rail freight

Conclusion

The industrial-port zones constitute a pillar of the international traffic of goods by sea. They are expected to continue their development in the coming decades. XP LOG, specialist in logistics solutions on the ZIP of Le Havre, makes you benefit from its human and technical expertise.