In the first quarter of 2017, Germany’s Port of Hamburg’s total throughput was up by 1.7 percent at 35.4 million tons. Growth in Germany’s largest universal port was therefore slightly above the average 1.6 percent for the other major North Range ports of Rotterdam, Antwerp and Bremen/Bremerhaven.
Contributing to the Hamburg total, bulk cargo throughput was 6.7 percent higher at 12.2 million tons, and general cargo handling at 23.1 million tons, just 0.7 percent lower. In the former segment, the 12-million-ton mark was exceeded for the first time, and the best quarterly figure achieved since records began. On the export side, general cargo throughput at 11.9 million tons represented growth of 3.4 percent. At 11.2 million tons, general cargo imports were somewhat lower, being down by 4.7 percent.
At 1.9 million TEU, Hamburg’s total seaborne loaded-container throughput for the first quarter of 2017 rose by 0.04 percent
Conventional general cargo handling was sluggish in the first quarter, with the total 22.0 percent lower at 324,000 tons. A company spokesman surmised that this was caused by the withdrawal of the Buss Hansa Terminal handling facility and a downturn in RoRo traffic with Africa caused by lower demand.
At 12.2 million tons, throughput of suction, grab and liquid cargoes achieved 6.7 percent growth. That made Hamburg the only North Range port to report growth in this segment.
By Jake Frith
