Port of Hamburg Marketing has revealed that the port enjoyed a positive first quarter of 2011, with container throughput up 18.2 per cent and total seaborne cargo growth of 9.8 per cent.
With the climb in container throughput, which was up 2.1m TEU on the previous year, the marketing authority noted that Hamburg had 'regained market shares and extended its position as the northern European hub for container traffic'.
Total seaborne cargo came to 31.4m tonnes, while general cargo throughput grew 15 per cent to 21.4m tonnes, primarily led by a strong container showing for both imports and exports.
'We are delighted by this excellent throughput figure for the Port of Hamburg and see the main reasons behind above-average growth in container throughput as being the unusually strong increase in container trade routes to and from Asia as well as the Baltic region,' said Claudia Roller, CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing.
Looking ahead, Roller explained that the port was expecting further sustained growth of around 10 per cent in seaborne cargo for 2011, even if the German economy slows down in the second quarter as economists have forecast.
