The Port of Hamburg saw strong growth in the first nine months of 2019, with seaborne cargo throughput rising by 3.2 percent to 104 million tons,
At that rate, Hamburg exceeds the growth rate of competing ports in northern Europe, which on average have reported just one percent growth, according to the Port of Hamburg.
Container volumes at Germany’s largest port has increased of 6.9 percent to 7 million TEU so far in 2019 thanks to new transatlantic and Baltic feeder services. The transatlantic services, operated by Hapag-Lloyd and ONE, connect Hamburg with ports in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
The growth in containerized cargo helped Hamburg regain some market share from competitors whose growth averaged 3.4 percent.
Notably, in the first three-quarters of the year, 439,000 TEU were handled on container services with the USA, Hamburg’s second most important trading partner, for an advance of a solid 325 percent compared to the same period in 2018.
“Including the existing liner services, in Hamburg we can offer port customers a total of 14 direct links with 29 ports in the USA, Mexico and Canada,” said Ingo Egloff, Joint CEO of Port of Hamburg (HHM). “An additional 15 feeder and liner services in the first nine months provide a clear indication that the Port of Hamburg is now even more attractive for shipping and shippers.”
During the first three quarters, the number of calls by so-called mega containerships (TEU capacity > 18K) increased to18.3 percent to 123. With the start of the expansion for shipping channels on the Lower and Outer Elbe, Egloff sees Hamburg as set on the right course for future growth.
Hinterland rail traffic saw double-digit growth of 11.9 percent, while bulk cargo saw a slight dip of 2.1 percent so far in 2019.
