Saxon Inland Ports on the Elbe Stay on Course in 2022

The port association of the Saxon Inland Ports Oberelbe GmbH (SBO) remains on a successful course in the crisis year 2022 – despite a slight decline in cargo handling: A total of 2.96 million tons of goods were handled in the ports. This marks the third-best result for the port group since 1990. Compared to 2021, the absolute record year for the port group, cargo handling has decreased by 6%. The SBO port association includes the inland ports in Dresden, Riesa, Torgau, Mühlberg, Decin, Lovosice, and Dessau-Roßlau.

(Dresden) Thanks to a variety of trimodal logistics services from a single source, the impacts of the difficult and challenging year 2022 for the stakeholders and the port operator were limited. Economically, it will turn out to be the best business year for the port association. The port group was able to record strong entrepreneurial growth and will generate a significant annual surplus. New permanent jobs were also created, for example, in the areas of handling, sales, and freight forwarding.

In rail freight transport, the record result of 2021 was even surpassed: The port association achieved a total of 1.35 million tons, marking the highest rail cargo handling in its history. This corresponds to an increase of 7.5% compared to 2021. The ports of Dresden and Torgau significantly contributed to this increased result. In the TrailerPort Alberthafen Dresden, nearly 25,000 trailers (semi-trailers) with a volume of around 620,000 tons were loaded from road to rail in 2022. A total of 12 trains were processed weekly from Monday to Sunday, operating on the routes Dresden – Rostock – Dresden and Dresden – Curtici (RO) – Dresden. In 2023, additional routes are expected to be added, both nationally and internationally. To manage the increasing demand for rail transport in combined traffic and for traffic shifts, the SBO will construct a new TrailerPort on the south side of the port of Dresden. This will enable the handling of up to 50,000 trailers per year in the future. The investment of approximately 5 million euros will be realized by the SBO with its own funds and federal funding for combined transport.

Close to the Record Level of 2021

The three Saxon ports of Dresden, Riesa, and Torgau (SBO) achieved a cargo handling of 2.24 million tons, marking the third-best result since 1990. With a slight economy-related decline of 1.7%, they remained nearly at the level of the record year 2021. Here, too, wagon handling saw a strong increase of 14.3% compared to 2021. The transported goods included trailers, round timber, steel products, and grain.

The container handling at the port of Riesa also struggled in 2022 with the global impacts. A total of 32,639 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) were handled – an increase of 936 TEU (+2.95%) compared to the previous year. The containers are transported by inland vessel and with the block train connection AlbatrosExpress between Riesa and Hamburg / Bremerhaven. At the port of Riesa, the SBO offers comprehensive logistical solutions for the companies and customers located there. In the temperature-controlled container service hall, numerous “services around the container” are provided. The portfolio ranges from repairs, cleaning, labeling, and special construction of containers to the installation of inlets, special and custom fittings, as well as container stuffing and order picking, along with the trading and sale of containers.

In 2022, the Elbe was Almost Continuously Navigable

In 2022, the Elbe was almost continuously navigable, allowing for the loading of numerous heavy cargo and project shipments, such as turbines, transformers, engines, and generators, in the ports of Dresden and Lovosice. Nevertheless, cargo handling by inland vessel in the Upper Elbe ports decreased by 29.7% to just under 54,000 tons. The main reason for this is that there is currently not enough shipping space available for cargo transport on the Upper Elbe. This situation prevents a multitude of bulk cargo transports, primarily to the Czech Republic. Additionally, due to transport-related issues and the overload of seaports, it was not possible to bring a higher number of containers by inland vessel to the seaports.

Developing Elbe Ports in the Czech Republic into Freight Transport Centers

The Czech subsidiary of the SBO – Ceso-saske pristavy s.r.o. (CSP) – invested approximately 1.5 million euros in the expansion of its port infrastructure in 2022. With the help of the State Transport Infrastructure Fund (SFDI) and the program “Modernization and Construction of Inland Ports for Freight Transport in the Czech Republic – Port Infrastructure” as well as the CSP’s own funds, the public inland ports of Decin and Lovosice were upgraded with the aim of further developing these ports into modern freight transport centers. At the port of Lovosice, a new connection track with access road and a new port road were constructed. The trial operation of the new track already showed an increase in transport capacity of 50%. The handling at the overloaded railway junction Lovosice was also improved. Additionally, the modernization of transformer stations and the construction of new lighting at the port of Lovosice were carried out. At the port of Decin, loading tracks and roads were upgraded, and the power system and outdoor lighting were modernized.

Photo: © Saxon Inland Ports Oberelbe GmbH / Image Caption: Alberthafen Dresden