Saxon Ports on the Upper Elbe Achieve Their Goals in 2023

The annual results will also reflect a good business year for the port association. Despite a slight decline in revenue, the port group will again generate a significant annual surplus, thus achieving its set goals for the past financial year.

(Dresden) In rail freight transport, the port association achieved a total of 1.07 million tons, marking the third-highest rail freight turnover in its history. The ports of Torgau (+16.04%) and Lovosice (+31.79%) significantly contributed to this result. Here, mainly wood products, grain, soybean meal, and fertilizers were handled by rail.

At the TrailerPort Alberthafen Dresden, a total of 16,240 trailers (truck semi-trailers) with a volume of 370,000 tons were loaded by rail. Here, the SBO had to record a decline of 8,727 trailers (-34.95%) compared to 2022 due to the increasing shift of transport from rail to road. Since November 2023, container trains have also been processed at the TrailerPort. A total of 2,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) have already been loaded by the SBO in the last two months of the previous year. For this year, around 12,000 TEU are expected.

New TrailerPort Under Construction Since November

To cope with the increasing demand for rail transport in combined traffic and for transport shifts, the SBO has been constructing a new TrailerPort on the southern side of the port of Dresden since November 2023. In the future, up to 50,000 trailers and containers can be handled here annually. The investment costs for the project amount to around 5.2 million euros, of which 3.2 million euros are invested by the SBO itself and 2 million euros are funded by the federal KV funding guidelines. Additionally, the SBO will invest more than one million euros from its own funds for new, more efficient, and powerful shunting technology at the Dresden site. The track area will also be partially upgraded to handle the increasing number of trailer trains more quickly. The number of employees who will find secure jobs in the new TrailerPort will also increase.

The three Saxon ports of Dresden, Riesa, and Torgau (SBO) achieved a good result with nearly 2 million tons of cargo handling. Here, particularly the ship handling saw a significant increase of 378% (+65,735 tons) compared to 2022. In the port of Torgau alone, a total of 102 ships were loaded with 31,950 tons of gravel. These were workboats for maintenance measures on the federal waterway Elbe, which will continue in 2024.

Container Handling in Riesa Slightly Recovered

Container handling in the port of Riesa saw a slight recovery in 2023. A total of 33,748 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) were handled – an increase of 1,109 TEU (+3.40%) compared to the previous year. In 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, loading/unloading, 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 the ports of Dresden and Lovosice, numerous heavy cargo and project loads, such as turbines, transformers, motors, and generators, were loaded. From June to November 2023, the Upper Elbe ports struggled with very low water levels of the Elbe, which led to a suspension of inland shipping for economic reasons. Nevertheless, the cargo handling by inland vessel in the Upper Elbe ports increased by 8.73% to a total of 112,457 tons. The currently insufficient shipping space available on the Upper Elbe prevented an even higher increase. The goods transported by inland vessel included, in addition to project loads, grain, coal, ore, and fertilizers.

Rail Traffic to Czech Ports Increases

The two Czech ports of Decin and Lovosice nearly reached the cargo handling levels of 2022 (-1.60%). Despite multiple track closures at the German-Czech border, rail freight transport in the port of Lovosice saw a significant increase (+31.79%). The transported goods included soybean meal, fertilizers, grain, and salt. Since October 2023, the CSP has been constructing two new connecting tracks in the port of Lovosice with the help of the State Transport Infrastructure Fund (SFDI) to better access the rear port area and utilize it for wagon handling. The investment costs for the project amount to around one million euros.

Photo: © SBO / Caption: Alberthafen Dresden