Hamburg Süd 2014: Setting the course for the future

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Hamburg Süd’s performance in brief

While global economic growth in 2014 remained at previous year’s level with 3.4 per cent, container shipments increased at a considerably higher rate of 5.4 per cent compared with the previous year (3.6 per cent). However, available global slot capacity on board container ships also increased in the past year, outpacing container transport volume. Consequently, it was not possible to reduce the existing overcapacity and freight rates in most trades declined further. A positive effect came from fuel prices, which fell sharply from the fourth quarter of the year.