Port of Hamburg Marketing has revealed that total seaborne throughput for 2012 came to 130.9m tonnes, a 1 per cent dip on the previous 12 months.
According to the marketing authority, a reluctance to consume and invest in Europe, especially in the second half of 2012, impacted the throughput of imported goods in particular (down 3 per cent).
Exported goods actually increased by 1.9 per cent on 2011, up to 57.1m tonnes.
At 8.9m TEUs, total container handling in Hamburg was slightly lower (down 1.7 per cent) then the previous year, although Hamburg remains the second largest container port in Europe and consolidated its 14th place among container ports worldwide.
'We can be satisfied with the trend on the Port of Hamburg’s handling of exports,' said Claudia Roller, CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing. 'This illustrates once again the high standing German products enjoy abroad and underlines what a significant role in German foreign trade falls to the Port of Hamburg.
'Yet we do not wish to gloss over the total result, for the economy in Europe needs to recover and to generate an increased willingness to consume and invest,' she continued. 'With demand again picking up in Europe and foreign trade gathering strength in our most significant markets abroad, for 2013 growth in total throughput can be expected for the Port of Hamburg.'
