Strong uptrend in the first quarter of 2011 at Port of Hamburg

Above-average growth of container throughput figures and total seaborne cargo throughput

In the first three months of 2011 the Port of Hamburg achieved above-average growth. The German universal port posted a result of 31.4 million tons (+ 9.8 per cent) for total seaborne cargo throughput. With throughput of 2.1 million TEU, or a 18.2 per cent-increase, the Port of Hamburg reached above-average growth compared to other European sea ports. Hamburg accordingly regained market shares and extended its position as Northern European hub for container traffic.

Claudia Roller, CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing, emphasised on the unusually strong increase on the container trade routes to and from Asia as well as the Baltic region. “In the first three months of 2011, we handled 1.3 million TEU (+ 15.7 per cent) in seaborne container traffic with Asia. This important region of our market therefore accounted for 56 percent of total growth in container throughput for the first three months of 2011,” she explained.

Moreover, general cargo throughput at 21.4 million tons developed very positively, being 15 percent higher than in the same period last year. The strong container throughput was the growth driver in this segment. Bulk cargo throughput at 9.9 million tons in the first quarter of 2011 was just ahead (+ 0.1 per cent) of 2010. Non-containerized general cargo at 562,000 tons failed by 4.6 per cent to reach the previous year’s total. This was partly caused by lower imports of citrus fruits, as the port states in a press release.