Port of Hamburg: Growth in container throughput and rail transport

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%).
 
More vessels call at Hamburg
The total number of ship calls with capacity for container cargo at the Port of Hamburg rose by 0.3 compared to the previous year. The security situation in the Red Sea continues to shape global freight shipping. Longer transit times are leading to route changes and vessel diversions. As a result, fewer Megamax ships, which are primarily used for transport through this maritime region, have called at Hamburg. At the same time, per-call throughput volumes at the Port of Hamburg increased significantly. Container vessels in the Megamax class therefore handled well over 10,000 TEU on average. This corresponds to an increase of more than 20 percent.
 
Decarbonisation influences bulk throughput
Nowhere is the energy transition more evident than in the figures for bulk cargo throughput. The decline in the use of fossil fuels affected the throughput result. Companies in the port industry imported 3.8 million tonnes of coal, 2.1 percent less than in the previous year. Throughput of mineral oil products totalled 5.7 million tonnes, a decline of 21.7 percent. This drop is partly due to exceptionally high throughput in 2023. In addition, lower demand due to weaker economic performance and mild temperatures led to lower imports in 2024.
 
Throughput of bulk goods totalled 33.1 million tonnes. This corresponds to a decline of 8.6 percent compared to the previous year. Of particular note are the 5.6 percent increase in imports of oilseed crops to 3.2 million tonnes and the 9.4 percent increase in exports of animal feed to 1.4 million tonnes.
 
As a result, the total volume of goods handled at the port stood at 111.8 million tonnes, 2.1 percent less than the previous year.
 
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.
 
Outlook
The global situation is expected to remain highly volatile for the foreseeable future due to the large number of international crises. At the same time, the German government has forecast just 0.3 percent growth for the German economy. This will continue to influence the throughput figures at the port. However, several new liner services, announced by the Port of Hamburg in early 2025, signal positive developments ahead. For example, February saw the launch of a North and South America service by shipping lines CMA CGM and ONE, along with an India service operated by the Gemini Alliance.

source: Port of Hamburg

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