In the 2011 first half general cargo handling produced strong growth for Hamburg, with a 15.1 percent increase to 44.7 million tons. During the same period throughput of bulk cargoes was slightly (1.8 percent) down on the 2010 total, with throughput volume totalling 19.4 million tons. Container throughout leapt by 17.4 percent to around 4.3 million TEU (20-feet standard containers). Among the factors generating additional throughput volumes were new or expanded liner services.
Besides other factors, the strategic approach of liner shipping companies in exploiting the benefits of larger ship units for additional growth, on the one hand, and in reaching vessel-sharing as well as slot-charter agreements, on the other, had positive effects on the Port of Hamburg. In the first half, Hamburg was already able to welcome more than ten new liner services. At the same time, larger ship units were increasingly being deployed on new and existing liner services.
Strong development of imports, reaching a total of 37.4 million tons, was mainly responsible for the above-average growth of 11.1 percent. First-half exports reached 26.7 million tons, a 7.1 percent improvement on the same period of the previous year. Reporting at the half-year press conference on container handling in the first six months, Claudia Roller, CEO at Port of Hamburg Marketing, the Port of Hamburg’s marketing organization, pointed out that exports at 21.4 million tons (up 13.9 percent) were only minimally below imports at 22.1 million tons (up 17.7 percent). “With its almost perfectly balanced volumes of exports and imports the Port of Hamburg is an exceedingly attractive port location in Northern Europe for shipping lines and other customers. The throughput figures for the first half of the year are very gratifying and make it clear that the universal port of Hamburg is further enhancing its immense importance for the foreign trade of the Federal Republic of Germany and our neighbouring countries,” emphasized Claudia Roller. Jens Meier, Managing Director of Hamburg Port Authority, is also delighted by the positive trend in throughput figures: “That we continued to invest undiminished in port infrastructure during the crisis is now paying off. On account of steep growth and related challenges to port transport services, we must maintain our rapid expansion.” “Growing throughput makes it absolutely clear that Hamburg as a port and commercial hub must be maintained in its entirety and sustainably developed to cope with the challenges of the future. We are currently working on a port development plan covering the next fifteen years jointly with the HPA, other authorities, port commerce, industry and trade, as well as associations and chambers of commerce. With this initiative for the universal Port of Hamburg we want to create the most optimal framework possible,” explained Hamburg’s Senator for Economics Frank Horch.
Growth in container handling is attributable to favourable developments in all trades. For instance, Hamburg’s container throughput in traffic with European ports achieved above-average growth of 25.9 percent to 1.2 million TEU. In the first six months the main growth region comprised the container trades with Russia, Poland and the Baltic states, with a 50.5 percent increase to 505,000 TEU. Container throughput with Russia advanced at an above-average rate in the first half, reaching a volume of 276,000 TEU, representing growth of 45 percent. Russia accordingly extended its position as Hamburg’s most significant trading partner for European container services, and its third largest trading partner in worldwide container traffic. At 443, 000 TEU, container throughput with Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden achieved a real advance of 13.4 percent. With around 154 feeder sailings per week, the Port of Hamburg is Europe’s leading feeder port for the Baltic region. Feeder traffic via Hamburg was altogether more than 30 percent up in the first half year. This can partly be put down to the fact that some liner shipping companies were to an increasing extent concentrating their transhipment services in Hamburg.
First-half container throughput with North, Central and South America at 460,000 TEU was up by 21.2 percent. “We are delighted at the excellent development of container traffic with the USA, with throughput reaching 109,000 TEU in the first six months, an increase of 47.4 percent on the same period of the previous year. The USA therefore rose from 16th to 9th place among Hamburg’s leading partners for container services. During the first half alone, Hamburg succeeded in gaining two additional Transatlantic services. A third North America service commenced at the beginning of August and will generate additional growth,” explained Claudia Roller. With container throughput via Hamburg of 117,000 TEU, growth of 21.2 percent was recorded for Africa. The Port of Hamburg’s most important market region, Asia, developed extremely well in the first half, with container throughput increasing by 12.9 percent to 2.5 million TEU. The container trades with China, Hamburg’s largest trading partner in terms of container throughput, handled around 1.4 million TEU. That represented growth of 14.7 percent. Hamburg remains Europe’s leading throughput centre for the container trade with Asia and China. A significant proportion of these import and export containers are transported between the Hamburg hub and the Baltic region by feedership.
Throughput of conventional general cargo of 1.2 million tons (down 6.9 percent) in the first six months was below the previous year’s figure. In this segment growth of 13.3 percent in export vehicles handled and of 38.5 percent in those imported were unable to offset downturns for fruit handled (down 17.5 percent) and other conventional cargo. However, the 2011 second quarter brought a 4.2 percent advance on the first quarter in conventional throughput, caused among other things by rising import volumes of metals and paper.
Bulk cargo throughput, reaching a total of 19.4 million tons in Hamburg in the first six months, remained 350,000 tons (1.8 percent) below the previous year’s figure. The downturn is primarily attributable to lower exports of wheat. On the import side, by contrast, at 14.7 million tons volume was up by 3.3 percent on the previous year. It was especially imports of oilseeds, wheat and feedstuffs, not forgetting an increase for coal and coke as well, that produced this good result on dry bulk cargo handling. Liquid cargo volume of 6.7 million tons remained 1.8 percent below the previous year’s result. Here higher imports of crude oil and mineral oil products could not offset the downturn on the export side.
A further upward trend in seaborne cargo throughput for the Port of Hamburg is strongly dependent on a sustained favourable world economic climate. In that context, Claudia Roller is not excluding the possibility that the risks associated with debt problems in Europe and the USA may influence the situation of heavy current market demand. With this proviso, Claudia Roller anticipates throughput of around 131 million tons for the Port of Hamburg in 2011. For total throughput in 2011, she anticipates growth of between eight and ten percent. For container throughput, Claudia Roller reckons with nine million TEU, or growth of more than ten percent, during the year.