Germany’s major maritime gateway, the Port of Hamburg, handled 1.9 million TEUs in the first quarter of 2024. This represented a 1.1% growth compared to the same period last year. Box throughput by tonnage also increased moderately.
Axel Mattern, CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing, commented: « The development of container throughput suggests that, despite the current events in the Red Sea, trade is stabilising and the recovery process is continuing. »
He pointed out that « the quarterly results cover a short period of time and are not indicative of throughput trends for the remainder of the year. »
Total seaborne cargo throughput in the first three months of this year was 27.4 million tonnes, translating to a year-on-year decrease of 3.3%. The main reason was a lower bulk goods at 8.2 million tonnes.
Container traffic with the United States totalled 179,000 TEUs, corresponding to an increase of 17.7% while box throughput with China remained in the lead, with 536,000 TEUs and an increase of 2.9%.