The following release was published by Port of Hamburg:
- Throughput at the Port of Hamburg reaches 7.8 million TEU
- Conventional general cargo up 8.7 percent
- Record level of US transports
- Rail transports grow faster than total throughput
The year 2024 was marked by numerous geopolitical and economic challenges. International trade was impacted by both the war in Ukraine and the conflicts in the Middle East, fuelling uncertainty in global markets. In Germany, economic output declined by 0.2 percent. Industrial production also experienced a year-on-year drop of 4.5 percent.
Stable container througput in a challenging global environment Despite these challenges, the Port of Hamburg once again reported growth in container throughput. The positive trend in container traffic with the USA continued in 2024, while container throughput with China recovered.
At 7.8 million TEU, container throughput at the Port of Hamburg grew by 0.9 percent compared to 2023. Loaded containers, which are particularly important for the value chain, accounted for approximately 87 percent of this volume. Throughput in this segment increased by 1.2 percent to 6.8 million TEU.
“The annual result highlights the Port of Hamburg’s resilience in a challenging market environment. Most notably, the high proportion of loaded container throughput indicates that shippers regard the port as a reliable partner and a strong link in the global logistics chain. Additionally, the port’s efficient hinterland transport had a successful year”, analyses Axel Mattern, Member of the Executive Board at Port of Hamburg Marketing (HHM).
Overall, the Port of Hamburg handled 78.7 million tonnes of general cargo, the majority of which (77.5 million tonnes) was in containers. Conventional general cargo throughput increased to 1.3 million tonnes (+8.7%).
Major markets in the black Trade with China – an important factor for Hamburg – grew by 0.7 percent to 2.2 million TEU last year. As a result, the country has remained Hamburg’s most important trading partner, ahead of the USA, which set a new record with 685,000 TEU, marking a 5.0 percent increase. India, an emerging market, also showed a positive growth of 2.1 percent to 195,000 TEU. Furthermore, throughput with Sri Lanka – the largest transhipment hub for the Indian subcontinent – rose to 140,000 TEU (+12.4%).
Rail clearly ahead in hinterland transport With a volume of 5.2 million TEU, hinterland traffic at the Port of Hamburg moved more goods than in 2023. Transhipment reached a volume of 2.6 million TEU. In terms of tonnage, hinterland transport accounted for 83.1 million tonnes and transhipment for 28.7 million tonnes.
Rail is particularly noteworthy in the modal split, moving 46.2 million tonnes (+1.3% year-on-year) and 2.6 million TEU (+2.5%) in 2024. Indeed, rail once again surpassed the 50 percent mark, holding a 50.2 percent share of container transport. This good result is also due to high capacity utilisation in container trains. Rail also gained ground in the tonnage-based modal split. At 55.6 percent, the share moved by rail was 2.1 percentage points higher than in 2023. “The result underlines our position as the largest rail port in Europe and consolidates our market leadership”, emphasises HHM CEO Axel Mattern.
Source: Port of Hamburg