Hamburg bulk throughput on course for record

Bulk cargo handling was up over 8% over the first nine months of the year at Port of Hamburg, despite an overall drop of 4.8% in seaborne cargo throughput.

The port handled a total of 104.6 million t of seaborne cargo in the nine months to September 2015, it said in a press release, with weakness in Chinese foreign trade and a steep downturn in trade with Russia hitting volumes.

“Since China is our strongest trading partner in container traffic, and large quantities of containers are transhipped via Hamburg for transport into the Baltic region, this downturn is painful for the Port of Hamburg,” said Axel Mattern, Executive Board Member of Port of Hamburg Marketing.

The story was much more positive on the bulk commodities handling with the port handling a total of 34.3 million t – an 8.7% rise on 2014 – keeping Hamburg on course for record year. Grab cargo throughput was up 13.9% million t at 16.9 million, including 5.6 million t of coal imports and 7.6 million t of ore imports, as well as 2.6 million t of fertilizer exports – up 15.1% on last year. Handling of scrap metal, building materials, stone and soil were also up to 609 000 t.

Last year the port handled almost 6.1 million to of coal with grab cargo handling totaling 20.4 million t overall.

Suction cargo throughput also showed double digit growth of 13.3% driven by booming grain exports, which were up 38.1% at 3.5 million t. Total suction cargo throughput hit 7 million t over the first three quarters of the year.

The Port of Hamburg employs more than 150 000 people in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region and forms a key part of the German economy. For the year as a whole, the port expects continued positive performance in the bulk commodities sector, while container throughput will remain subdued.

Edited by Jonathan Rowland. Photo credit: Hafen Hamburg.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/handling/16112015/hamburg-bulk-throughput-on-course-for-record-3163/