August 19 - The Port of Hamburg, Germany has achieved above average growth and strengthened its market position during the first half of 2013.
Cargo throughput at the gateway in H1 2013 reached 68.1 million tonnes - up by 3.5 percent year-on-year over H1 2012. Both the import and export of general and bulk cargoes results were positive.
The port handled 47.4 million tonnes of general cargo during H1 2013 - up by 3.1 percent year-on-year over the comparable period of 2012. At 20.7 million tonnes bulk cargo throughput grew 4.4 percent.
The gateway handled 0.92 million tonnes of conventional general cargo in H1 2013, down by 10.1 percent year-on-year over H1 2012.
The port handled 4.5 million teu in H1 2013, representing a 2.1 percent year-on-year improvement over H1 2012. Total container cargo throughout stood at 46.5 million tonnes for the trading period.
According to the Port of Hamburg, on average the largest seaports in Northern Europe reported downturns of 0.4 percent in total throughput and 1.2 percent on containers handled.
"Hamburg is further extending its position as Germany's largest universal port and we are delighted that both general and bulk cargo handling contributed to the excellent throughput result," says Axel Mattern, executive board member of Port of Hamburg Marketing.
Looking ahead, Axel Mattern anticipates a nominal three percent increase in German exports this year. German export growth of five percent, which has been recognised in recent years, is not to be expected.
"Taking into account exports from the market regions in neighbouring countries, however, growth rates of between four and five percent in the Port of Hamburg's seaborne cargo throughput are possible," said Mattern.
For FY 2013 at the Port of Hamburg, Mattern forecasts total cargo throughput of around 136 million tonnes, up 4 percent year-on-year, and container handling of around 9.1 million teu - up by three percent.
