Container Handling in Hamburg Port with Growth in the First Quarter of 2022

The first quarter of the year brought very different handling and traffic developments for the Port of Hamburg. Container handling increased by 2.2 million TEU (20-foot standard containers), achieving a growth of 1.8 percent in the first three months. Overall, seaborne cargo handling remained just below the previous year’s quarter with a result of 31.2 million tons (-2.8 percent).

(Hamburg) The effects of the sanctions against Russia, which only took effect from March, were not yet visible in all handling segments of Germany’s largest universal port in the first quarter. “After a very good start in January, the beginning of the war in Ukraine in February led to an expansion of EU sanctions in trade with Russia. We quickly noticed a decline in container traffic with Russian ports in Hamburg. This was mainly due to many shipping lines responding with a stop in calls. The import of coal from Russia and other bulk goods, such as mineral oil products, continued without disruption,” says Axel Mattern, Managing Director of Hafen Hamburg Marketing e.V. He points out that the effects in the first quarter were already felt in breakbulk handling, but have since become more pronounced in almost all handling and industry segments.

The rail freight traffic developed very well again. The Hamburg port railway was able to handle a transport volume of 12.0 million tons (+1.6 percent) in the first quarter. In container transport, a growth of 1.4 percent was achieved with 0.7 million TEU. “The Port of Hamburg once again confirms its performance as a leading rail port. Record values in January with 60,000 TEU per week and a number of 231 train trips per day impressively underline this. These records are remarkable against the backdrop of particularly high peak utilization at the container terminals and storm-related traffic restrictions in the rail network. We are pleased that despite these special challenges, even new container train connections have been launched. However, ship delays and disrupted transport chains also affected environmentally friendly freight transport by rail in the seaport hinterland,” explains Mattern. The modal split share of rail in container transport in Hamburg is now at 51.5 percent. The share of trucks is 46.1 percent, and the share of inland vessels is 2.4 percent.

Seaborne Cargo Handling in the First Quarter of 2022

In the first three months of the year, breakbulk handling reached a total of 22.5 million tons, an increase of 0.6 percent. The value-added conventional breakbulk shows a strong increase of 47.7 percent in this segment with 0.4 million tons. Bulk cargo handling was weaker than in the comparable previous year’s quarter, with 8.7 million tons (-10.6 percent).

Within the bulk segment, the handling of grab cargo remained below the previous year’s result with a total of 4.9 million tons (-11.7 percent). Declines in fertilizer exports and reduced imports of coal, coke, and ore influenced the handling development in this segment. In the agribulk sector, 1.6 million tons of suction goods were handled in the first three months of the year. The overall decline of 5.2 percent is attributed to less handling of oilseeds. An increase in imports of grains and feed did not compensate for this. In the liquid cargo segment, handling in the first quarter totaled 2.3 million tons (-11.7 percent). Fewer imports are the main reason for the decline in this segment.

In container handling, a total of 2.2 million TEU were handled in Hamburg in the first three months. Compared to the previous year’s quarter, this is an increase of 1.8 percent. “The collapse in container traffic with Russian ports was significant in March, with an 81 percent drop. During the same period, we observed a strong increase in container traffic with Polish ports and ports in the Baltic states. Larger volumes in traffic with these countries helped to offset the reduction in traffic with Russia,” says Mattern.

China, USA, and Singapore Lead the Ranking of Partner Countries

In container handling with the ten most important partner countries of the Port of Hamburg, the countries in positions one to three remained unchanged. In seaborne container handling with China, 0.7 million TEU were handled in the first quarter. This is an increase of 6.2 percent. Thus, China solidifies its position as Hamburg’s most important trading partner by far. “With a high number of 18 liner services connecting Hamburg with Chinese ports, we also feel the special challenges in Hamburg due to delayed ship arrivals caused by COVID-related processing bottlenecks in individual Chinese ports. Nevertheless, Hamburg’s position as a leading China port has been further strengthened,” says Mattern.

Among the other trading partners in container traffic, the ranking after China is as follows: USA (-5.7 percent), Singapore (+9.1 percent), Poland (+45.2 percent), Sweden (+10.4 percent), Russia (-29.3 percent), and the United Kingdom (-2.9 percent). In the top 10 overview of the Port of Hamburg, Finland ranks eighth (+37.9 percent), Brazil ninth (0.1 percent), and Denmark tenth (+6.6 percent).

Number of Container Ship Calls Slightly Decreased

The number of ship calls with container loads has slightly decreased in the first quarters of recent years. However, ships of the size class from 18,000 TEU (Megamax) have arrived at the Port of Hamburg significantly more frequently compared to previous years, including the pre-crisis year 2019. There was also a significant increase in the first quarter in Very Large Container Ships (VLCS) between 8,000 and 10,000 TEU.

At the end of January 2022, the final stage of the fairway adjustment was approved. It has brought further improvements for large and significant improvements for medium-sized ships. The advantages of the widened and deepened fairway include additional loading options and greater flexibility in arrival and departure. This allows for a significantly better economic utilization of the Port of Hamburg.

The fairway adjustment is being accepted by the port’s customers. Large container ships have been reaching and leaving the Port of Hamburg with a greater draft since May 2021.

Outlook for 2022

In assessing the further handling development for the year 2022, the marketing organization of the Port of Hamburg remains cautious. However, growth in sub-segments and individual container shipping areas is certainly possible. The overall result will, however, be significantly influenced by the expected decline in handling segments affected by sanctions. The handling result for 2022 is therefore likely to be significantly below the amount of 130 million tons and 9.0 million TEU expected before the war in Ukraine began.

Photo: © Hafen Hamburg © HHM / Hasenpusch productions