While container throughput at the second-largest German port declined from 6.1 (2012) to 5.8 million TEU (down 4.7 per cent), the number of vehicles handled remained at the previous year’s level. In 2013, a total of 2,178,720 automobiles crossed the quays at the Weser in 2013, which is just 3,273 fewer than in 2012. “Once again, Bremerhaven succeeded in defending its position as the leading automotive port in Europe against its rivals Zeebrugge and Emden,” said Senator Martin Günthner.
In terms of total ocean freight throughput, the ports of Bremen/Bremerhaven were faced with a decline of 6.2 per cent in 2013, with total annual performance down from 84.0 to 78.8 million tonnes. Incoming ocean freight reached a level of 39.1 (2012: 42.2) million tonnes, outbound freight amounted to 39.7 (41.8) million tonnes. Last year, Bremerhaven accounted for 66.2 million tonnes of the total ocean freight handled by the twin ports, while Bremen-City handled a share of 12.6 million tonnes.
General cargo throughput at Bremen’s ports decreased from 73.6 to 68.9 million tonnes (down 6.4 per cent). Conventional – i.e. non-containerised – cargo, declined from 8.4 to 7.9 million tonnes (down 6.0 per cent). In the bulk cargo segment, the figure fell from 10.4 to 9.9 million tonnes, which is a decrease of 4.9 per cent.
Günthner summed up: “In 2012, Bremen’s ports had still succeeded in beating the negative trend at other European locations and achieved the best performance in their history. However, in 2013 – later than the competition – we were also confronted with the impact of the economic crisis in many parts of the world.“ The Senator expects throughput figures to stabilise in 2014.