Hamburg accordingly regained market shares and extended its position as the Northern European hub for container traffic. Total seaborne cargothroughput in Germany’s largest universal port reached 31.4 million tons (+ 9.8 percent). General cargo throughput at 21.4 million tons developed very well, being 15 percent higher than in the first quarter of 2010. This growth was primarily led by the excellent import and export showing on container throughput. Bulk cargo throughput at 9.9 million tons in the first quarter of 2011 was just ahead (+ 0.1 percent) of the previous year’s total. At 4.7 million tons, grab cargo throughput for the first quarter was 3.2 percent down on the previous year. Rising coal imports, which at 1.5 million tons were up by 18.1 percent, failed to offset the 21.6 percent downturn in ore imports (1.8 million tons). Sustained especially by crude oil imports during the first quarter of 2011, throughput of liquid cargoes reached 3.6 million tons, representing a gain of 3.7 percent. The third bulk cargo consists of suction goods, with throughput in the first quarter of 2011 up by 2 percent at 1.6 million tons. Totaling 791,000 tons, imports of oil-bearing fruits were of the order of 18 percent higher, attaining the best-ever quarterly figure for the Port of Hamburg. At 143,000 tons, wheat imports also developed extraordinarily well, being ahead by 38.9 percent in the first quarter. Non-containerised general cargoes at 562,000 tons failed by 4.6 percent to reach the previous year’s total. This was partly caused by lower imports of citrus fruits, which at 122,000 tons were down by 18.6 percent. Increased exports of vehicles, with 22.9 percent growth to 110,000 tons, and a doubling of vehicle imports to 22,000 tons, failed to compensate for this in the first quarter. “We are delighted by this excellent throughput figure for the Port of Hamburg and see the main reasons behind above-average growth in container throughput as being the unusually strong increase on the container trade routes to and from Asia as well as the Baltic region. In the first three months of 2011, 1.3 million TEU (+ 15.7 percent) were handled in seaborne container traffic with Asia. This especially important region of our market therefore accounted for 56 percent of total growth in container throughput for the first three months of 2011,” explained Claudia Roller, CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing. Altogether five new liner services, plus a further five with capacities topped up, to America, Asia and in the European trade produced substantial growth in container traffic for Hamburg. On container throughput with the Baltic region and with Asia, led by China, the Port of Hamburg is one of the leading seaports in Northern Europe. As a leading foreign trade hub, Hamburg handles large volumes of goods in foreign trade to and from overseas in what are known as trans-shipment trades by feedership to/from neighbouring countries in Europe and especially the Baltic region. Along with Finland, Russia is the most important market region in the Baltic area. With around 154 sailings per week, Hamburg continues to offer the densest network of feeder connections in Northern Europe with the entire Baltic region. Hamburg is the leading feeder port for the Baltic region and managed to extend this positionin the first quarter of 2011,” said Claudia Roller. Hamburg’s Baltic feeder services to and from Russia, for example, reported steep growth of 35.6 percent to 121,000 TEU. At 82,000 TEU, the increase in container traffic to and from Finland even reached 49.3 percent; while at 55.000 TEU seaborne container traffic with ports in Poland was significantly up by 26.9 percent. For these services with the Baltic area the Kiel Canal gives Hamburg a significant advantage in competition with the Northern European seaports situated farther West in the form of shorter voyage times and savings of distance, depending on the ports of origin and destination.
Monday, December 23, 2024
