Port of Hamburg Strong Growth in 2019 First Half

Germany’s largest universal port remains on a growth course, achieving a distinct 4.1 percent advance to 69.4 million tons in seaborne cargo handling in the first half of 2019. 

Especially good growth trend in the general cargo segment, up 6.1 percent at 48.4 million tons, was the main contributor to the excellent figures for total and container handling. The total for bulk cargo handling was just 0.3 percent lower than for last year’s first half at 21.0 million tons. 

The 7.5 percent increase in container handling to 4.7 million TEU is primarily attributable to the four new liner services that have linked the Hanseatic City with ports in the USA, Canada and Mexico since the start of the year. The 283,000 TEU handled in Hamburg on container services with the USA since the beginning of the year took the United States into second place among Hamburg’s most important partners for container services. The Port of Hamburg is now directly linked by a total of 14 liner services with 29 ports in the USA, Mexico and Canada. 

During the first half, the total number of container vessels calling Hamburg also rose. The total of 3,046 containerships berthing in the Port of Hamburg represented an increase of 3.7 percent. Among these were 89 ultra-large container carriers or 36.9 percent more, with a slot capacity of 18,000 TEU and over. 

The first half proved extremely successful for the Port of Hamburg’s transhipment and hinterland services. The former profited from transhipment traffic on the new container liner services that produced additional volumes for Hamburg’s enormous network of feeder connections. 

At 1.7 million TEU, transhipment on to feeder ships in Hamburg rose by 5.5 percent. Seaport-hinterland services on land in the 2019 first half likewise achieved an 8.7 percent advance to 2.9 million TEU.