Upswing in Duisport
The Port of Duisburg (Duisport) is continuing its race to catch up with 2020. At around 2.2 million teu, container traffic in H1/2021 rose by 10% compared to the previous year (2020: 2 million teu). Tonnage in combined transport recorded an even higher increase of 11%. Ship throughput also improved by 5%, while the rail sector came out on top with a 14% year-on-year growth.
Total cargo throughput in H1/2021 was slightly above the previous year's result at 29.5 million t (2020: 29.2 million t). The strong growth in combined transport more than compensated for the declines in the fossil fuel sector. Particular drivers of growth were goods flows with China and the European connections with Poland and Southern Europe. In addition to the expansion of existing routes, new destinations, e.g. Spain, also played their part.
"We anticipate strong growth in combined transport for the second half of the year," emphasised outgoing Duisport CEO Erich Staake, who expects a rise in both maritime volumes and continental traffic. He is also pleased with the expansion of the infrastructure: "Fortunately, we will be able to put a new Logport VI container terminal into operation at the end of this year, which will further increase the handling capacities at the Duisburg location."
In his opinion, the structural transformation of the port has been successful: "The handling of containers, swap bodies and trailers currently already accounts for more than 60% of the total handling volume in the Port of Duisburg," Staake said. (cd)