Economic crisis hits inland ports in Bavaria
| Bavarian Danube ports report declining freight volumes The global financial and economic crisis caused heavy troubles to the Danube ports in Bavaria in the first six months of 2009. An additional obstacle in the first quarter was the ice on the Main-Danube Canal and on the Danube. Whereas waterway throughput dropped by around one third in the ports of Kelheim, Regensburg and Deggendorf, the port of Straubing was able to record a growth of nearly 24 per cent in the period from January to June from 188,000 tons (2008) to 232,000 tons, which is mostly due to the operation of an oil mill. Passau showed on an increase from 103,000 to 130,000 tons in the reporting period, which was partly generated by the additional interim storage of raw materials. The collectivity of the Bavarian ports, namely the locations Aschaffenburg, Bamberg, Deggendorf, Kelheim, Nuremberg, Roth, Regensburg and Passau, registered a considerable decline in throughput in the first half of the year, notably the goods groups steel, iron, ore, fodder, fertilizers and grain. Quelle: Österreichische Verkehrszeitung |