ECT Hutchison Ports will introduce its new Truck Capacity Management System at the ECT Delta and ECT Euromax terminals from the week beginning 5 October 2026. The system will not apply at Hutchison Ports Delta II.
The terminal operator says it has been dealing with heavy peak-time congestion for some time and that new measures are needed to spread truck arrivals more evenly. The aim is to reduce what ECT describes as extreme queues, provide more certainty over truck handling and improve road safety around the terminal entrances.
ECT has cautioned, however, that it expects road traffic to remain busy even after the system is introduced.
What changes for hauliers?
Road hauliers will continue to pre-notify their visits and provide an expected arrival time, but that ETA will no longer necessarily determine when the truck can be handled.
Each time slot will have a maximum handling capacity. If there is room in the requested period, the haulier will receive the corresponding slot. If that period is already full, the system will automatically allocate the next available slot.
On weekdays, the slots will run from 03:00–06:59, 07:00–10:59, 11:00–14:59 and 15:00–18:59, followed by a longer evening and night slot from 19:00 to 02:59. A single weekend slot will run continuously from 19:00 on Friday until 02:59 on Monday.
ECT says the relatively broad periods have deliberately been chosen to retain some flexibility for hauliers. Capacity at ECT Delta will be allocated according to groups of handling blocks, while at Euromax it will be managed across the terminal as a whole.
Arrive too early and a €100 charge could follow
One of the most significant changes concerns trucks reaching the terminal before their assigned slot. ECT says arriving early will not be permitted. The Security-In barrier will nevertheless open, partly to prevent trucks from creating queues or unsafe situations on the public road outside the terminal.
Once inside, a driver will have 30 minutes to correct the visit if, for example, the wrong TAR code has been entered. In other cases, the driver must wait until the allocated time slot begins.
ECT says unauthorised entry will eventually attract a €100 surcharge. The charge will not actually be collected during an introductory period expected to last between one and three months. Instead, ECT says it will appear on the haulier’s monthly invoice together with the relevant visit details, allowing operators to see what they would have been charged once full enforcement begins.
No-shows can also cost €100
Hauliers will be able to change or cancel a visit free of charge until the allocated time slot begins. If the visit does not take place, is not changed in time or is cancelled after the slot has started, ECT will treat it as a no-show. A €100 charge is planned for these cases as well.
There are exceptions: the no-show fee will not apply to the evening and night slot between 19:00 and 02:59 or to the weekend slot.
As with the early-arrival penalty, the no-show charge will initially be waived during the introductory period. A 30-minute correction window will also apply after a pre-notification is created or amended, allowing errors to be fixed without triggering charges even if the allocated slot has already begun.
Drivers who are running late will be expected to update their ETA as soon as possible. The system will then determine whether the original slot can still be retained or whether another must be assigned.
Existing terminal charges remain
There will be no separate charge simply for reserving a time slot. ECT says its existing distribution surcharge, climate tariff and incentive for visits during off-peak periods will continue to apply, with those tariffs set to remain unchanged in 2027.
The operator is coordinating the introduction of the system with TLN-AZV, the container transport section of Dutch road transport association TLN.
If a serious operational disruption occurs, ECT can temporarily suspend the time-slot system and revert to its current first-in, first-out queueing procedure. Once normal operations resume, the capacity-management system will be reactivated.
The time-slot change comes shortly before another new access requirement at the same terminals. From 3 November, drivers who have not successfully completed ECT’s mandatory safety assessment will no longer be granted access to ECT Delta or ECT Euromax. The enforcement date was postponed from September following requests from the market and consultation with the industry.
