Port of Hamburg stops the rot

Port of Hamburg has reversed 2015’s disastrous 9.3% decline in container throughput, handling 8.9m teu in 2016 to record year-on-year growth of 1%. While still demonstrably down on 2014’s near-record throughput of 9.7m teu, the figures go some way to suggesting the German port may have stopped the rot. And on major trade routes, signs were positive. Throughput on American routes, both north and south, was up 2.9% to 1.2m teu, while Asian trade climbed 1.3% to 4.7m teu, accounting for over half of the port’s business. China routes also saw 1.6% growth to 2.6m teu – but for Europe, business remained flat.