Port of Hamburg hit by weak trade and dredging “handicap”

A dredging “handicap” and lacklustre trade with China and Russia hurt the Port of Hamburg’s container volumes, as it experienced a 6.8% downturn in the first half of the year, handling 4.5m teu.

The fall in cargos to and from China and Russia hit Hamburg especially hard as Hamburg handles a 6% higher proportion of transhipment cargo than European rivals, Antwerp and Rotterdam.

A large part of the cargo for/from China and Russia is transhipped via Hamburg, being transferred from large containerships on to feederships, or vice versa.