The Port of Hamburg in Germany has profited from a stronger global economy to achieve a positive advance in seaborne cargo throughput for the first half of the year, experiencing growth of 9.4 per cent to 64.1m tonnes.
According to a release from the Port Marketing Authority, container throughput leapt by 17.4 per cent to some 4.3m TEU (20-feet standard containers), driven by new or expanded liner services, among other factors.
General cargo handling increased 15.1 per cent to 44.7m tonnes, the Port Authority revealed in a news release, while bulk cargo fell slightly, down 1.8 per cent on the 2010 total at 19.4m tonnes.
Imports developed well, reaching a total of 37.4m tonnes at growth of 11.1 per cent, while first-half exports totalled 26.7m tonnes, a 7.1 per cent improvement on the same period of 2011.
'With its almost perfectly balanced volumes of exports and imports the Port
of Hamburg is an exceedingly attractive port location in Northern Europe for shipping
lines and other customers,' said Claudia Roller, CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing.
'The throughput figures for the first half of the year are very gratifying and make it clear that the universal port of Hamburg is further enhancing its immense importance for the foreign trade of the Federal Republic of Germany and our neighbouring countries,' she added.
