Port of Hamburg back on track
After the start of the Elbe river dredging, lady luck is back in the port of Hamburg. In 2019, its seaborne cargo throughput rose to 136.6 million t, a modest growth of 1.1%. Nevertheless, container handling stood at 9.3 million teu, seeing an uptick of 6.1%.
Moreover, a total of 2.7 million teu were transported between the terminals in the Port of Hamburg and those in the hinterland in 2019. That represents an increase of 10.4%, setting a fresh record for Hamburg’s port railway. In 2019, this handled some 62,000 freight trains with around 1.7 million boxcars.
Total freight volume transported was up by 3% at 48.2 million t. In 2019, 5.8 million teu – up by 7.8% – and 97.5 million t – up by 0.8%– were shifted in seaport-hinterland transport by rail, truck and inland waterway. Over the year, the port of Hamburg recorded a total of 684 calls by ULCV with slot capacities of more than 10,000 teu.
Last year, 165 of these were in the 18,000-plus teu category. This represented a growth of 10%. The port and its handling terminals are already handling mega-carriers with slots capacities in excess of 21,000 teu. (mw)