Port of Hamburg sees container growth despite global headwinds

The Port of Hamburg recorded steady growth in the first half of 2025, overcoming sluggish global trade and geopolitical uncertainty. From January to June, seaborne cargo volumes rose 3.6% year-on-year (YoY) to 57.8 million tonnes, driven by a strong rise in container traffic.

Container throughput expanded 9.3% to 4.2 million TEU, with imports up 11.6% and exports 6.9%. By weight, containerised cargo increased 6.8% to 41.2 million tonnes. CEO Axel Mattern of Port of Hamburg Marketing attributed the gains to new liner services and shipping line restructuring.

Bulk cargo, however, fell 3.7% to 0.6 million tonnes, while conventional general cargo dropped 3.8% to 16 million tonnes. Within bulk, liquid cargo climbed 10.3% to 4.7 million tonnes, while grabbable cargo slipped 6.6% to 8.5 million tonnes amid weaker coal and ore demand. Agricultural goods plunged 13.9% to 2.9 million tonnes, with grain exports collapsing 80.8% despite higher oilseed imports.

On trade routes, the Far East (+10.7% to 1.8 million TEU) and Baltic Sea (+20.8% to 734,000 TEU) posted the strongest container growth. Malaysia (+93.2%), India (+41.6%), and China (+10.5%) drove Asia’s expansion, while Denmark (+36%), Finland (+20.1%), and Poland (+28.8%) led Baltic gains. The US was the only major partner to decline, down 19.3% due to trade policy disruptions.

Ship traffic edged up 0.7% YoY, with calls by large containerships (10,000+ TEU) surging 51.6% to 285 and ultra-large vessels (24,000+ TEU) rising 29.6% to 127. Hinterland container traffic grew 2.2% to 2.6 million TEU, while transhipment volumes jumped 23.8% to 1.6 million TEU.

The port is reinforcing its competitive position with a €1.1 billion ($1.29 billion) investment to deepen the Elbe approach at Waltershofer Hafen and expand terminal yard capacity.