Port of Hamburg expecting a successful year 2017 in Austria
With a record volume of 296,000 TEU in 2016, the Port of Hamburg remains the most important trading partner of Austria in terms of containerised shipping. And the trend is expected to continue this year, says Alexander Till, Head of the Port of Hamburg’s representative office in Vienna: “After many talks with decision-makers in Austria in the first quarter of this year, we can assume that 2017 is going to be another successful year for the Port of Hamburg in Austria.”
According to Till, this outlook is based on the background of an increasing number of decision-makers recognising that 98 percent of transports to and from Austria via Hamburg are handled environmentally friendly by rail. In a time when the ecological footprint per container is important, this is a key competitive advantage for the Port of Hamburg,” says Alexander Till.
Around 42 percent of Austria’s total container volume are handled via Hamburg. This is a particularly pleasing result, considering the overall situation in the Austrian maritime and intermodal market. “Thanks to its geographical central location, many European ports are competing in the Austrian market. In recent years, particularly the southern ports could increase their market shares. Even in this challenging market environment, the Port of Hamburg was always able to maintain its dominant role,” Alexander Till points out.
This is among others attribuable to the excellent rail connections, the high number of departures of daily container trains as well as the high number of direct global liner services available in the Port of Hamburg. In addition there are numerous longstanding business relationships in the Austrian ocean freight industry supported by the activities of Port of Hamburg Marketing.
The marketing activities of the Vienna office are reflected in the organisation of more than 30 workshops across Austria in the past ten years and also outside of Austria. For example trips for delegations to the Port of Hamburg are organised for well-known representatives from politics and business.