[130418.EN.BIZ] Box Volume at Eurogate, Hamburg Slide 25pc After Hanjin's Demise

EUROGATE's port of Hamburg terminal suffered a 25 per cent drop in container throughput in 2017 on the back of a loss of customers caused by Hanjin Shipping's demise and the restructuring of mega shipping alliance calls.

On the other hand, container volumes at Eurogate's other German ports of Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven rose last year on account of the new alliances.

Over at Hamburg, the loss of customers pulled its overall German volume down by 5.5 per cent. It also affected the group's 12 locations in and around Europe where throughput decreased by 1.4 per cent to 14.4 million TEU in 2017, reported IHS Media

Eurogate's loss was Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG's (HHLA's) gain as the port of Hamburg's main terminal operator registered an eight per cent increase in container volume year over year at its three terminals to 7.2 million TEU. Asia volume handled at HHLA rose by 15 per cent in the wake of the alliance reshuffle, leaving the three terminals in Hamburg with a 78 per cent market share.

In a note to investors HHLA board chairwoman Angela Titzrath said: "In the wake of new syndicate structures, it was important to consolidate our existing business relationships with shipping companies.

"Cargo finds its own way. To ensure that it continues to pass through Hamburg, we constantly invest in our facilities. We have purchased state-of-the-art gantry cranes and storage technology to ensure we are well equipped to handle ships with capacities of more than 20,000 TEU."

Ms Titzrath said dredging work on the Elbe river would start soon and enable mega ships to call at Hamburg fully loaded, which would "provide greater planning certainty for HHLA and its clients and strengthen the port of Hamburg's competitive position."

When it comes to the landside logistics in Europe, HHLA and Eurogate are expanding their activity. Eurogate's intermodal volume grew 5.2 per cent to one million TEU in 2017, a figure that is seven per cent of the group's total container handling.

During 2017 HHLA merged its intermodal subsidiaries Metrans and Polzug to improve the hinterland reach and shift cargo from the road to rail, and it has just acquired Estonia's largest container terminal, Transiidikeskuse, in the capital city of Tallinn and will add it to the group network.

Source : HKSG.