Breakbulk and Project Cargo

Demand for larger power plants and green energy are boosting project cargo volumes. Luciavonu / Shutterstock. com

Larger power cargoes challenge transport, infrastructure limitations

By Carly Fields

The supersizing of conventional power cargoes is increasing project complexity and pushing the limits of available transportation, market experts say.

Conventional power project cargo is changing, with both weight and size increasing, Satish Singh, CEO of Mumbai-based freight forwarder Total Movements, told the Journal of Commerce. An industry push for cost competitiveness drives this trend, leading to larger power plants and“ a lot of heavy, heavy stuff— heavy turbines, heavy generators, heavy boilers,” Singh said.

Project cargo shippers are opting for larger packages to streamline on-site assembly, aiming to“ move in 30 days compared to six months,” he added.

While conventional power projects are expanding in scale, the green mandate in Europe is now a significant factor influencing demand within the continent.

“ Within Europe, the focus is more on renewable energy,” Tristan Boorsma of Netherlands-based project cargo forwarder NMT Projects said.“ Slowly, we see that at least in Europe, the demand for conventional power cargoes is reducing.”

However, Boorsma said there would be a continued need for conventional power generation in regions“ where the infrastructure is not really there for renewables.”

The European energy transition also requires significant upgrades to existing infrastructure, a further boon for project cargo demand. To meet this, there are more transformers being moved, which are also getting heavier, Boorsma said.

That surge in demand for transformers has been so profound that Iris Mullejans, managing director of Germany-based project forwarder Riedl, said transformer manufacturers cannot keep up with demand.

“ They are full for transformer orders through to 2030,” she told the Journal of Commerce.

Road restrictions

The movement of these increasingly large project cargo components presents transportation challenges, especially in Europe.

“ There, we are quite limited in terms of road transportation, so we have to look at alternatives,” Boorsma said.“ We have to do a lot by inland barging.”

Permitting is another pain point.“ The permit application within Europe is very difficult with long lead times,” he said.“ Every country has different rules and regulations.”

Mullejans added that European infrastructure is generally“ really run down,” although she acknowledged investments in Germany and the presence of heavy lift corridors in Finland, Sweden and Iceland that“ really help.”

“ Within Europe, the focus is more on renewable energy. Slowly, we see that at least in Europe, the demand for conventional power cargoes is reducing.”

The challenge of navigating infrastructure extends beyond Europe. Juan Turner, director / owner of Rowners, a forwarder based in Argentina, noted that while permits in the country can be obtained online in as little as a week to 10 days, there are instances where“ you have to invent and find a solution, and then it’ s a completely different story.”

A shortage of essential resources is a recurring theme. Turner highlighted the lack of“ sufficient asset capacity to meet demand in remote locations,” citing Paraguay as an example of where equipment often needs to be sourced from neighboring countries. Even more critical, he stressed, is“ manpower— the drivers and all the logistics team.”

Mullejans added that a lack of good engineering and engineers led her firm to employ that expertise in-house. Singh said India faces its own unique challenge.“ We have a lot of coastlines, but the government hasn’ t developed any seaports for industrial zones,” he said. Frequently, Total Movements has to build temporary jetties to roll up and transport project cargoes.

The alternative is relying on major Indian ports that are“ way too far from the project,” NMT’ s Boorsma said.

email: carly. fields @ spglobal. com www. joc. com July 7, 2025 | Journal of Commerce 31