| Fresh throughput record
consolidates Hamburg’s position as Germany’s leading universal port
Hamburg asserts its position
as Europe’s second largest container port and the ninth largest in the world.
In the year 2000 the total volume of
seaborne cargoes handled in the Port of Hamburg rose by 5% and set a fresh throughput
record of 85.1 million t. The growth was powered by container traffic that at 45.3 million
t in the year 2000 for the first time represented more then half of the cargo volume.
Containers handled via Hamburg grew by 13.6% to 4.248 million TEU. In
topping the magic four-million mark, Hamburg asserted its position as No. 9 in the
rankings of world container ports and as No. 2 in Europe. Growth at 13.6% was not just the
highest for ten years, but was also well above average market growth in Nothern Europe
that is put at about nine per cent.
Double-digit growth was achieved in 2000 on Hamburg’s container
traffic with each of the three trades East Asia, SE Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
Altogether 2.1 million TEU were handled via Hamburg in traffic with Asia. The People’s
Republic of China continue to take first place.
Hamburg’s strong position as Europe’s second largest distribution
center for container traffic is based on the one hand on the high proportion of local
cargo and on the other hand on its extremely well developed links with the hinterland in
Germany and Central Europe.
Along with Hamburg’s leading role in German foreign
trade, the metropolis on the Elbe is acquiring growing significance for handling imports
and exports of such neighboring countries as Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and
Hungary.
Cargo flows in traffic with South America have become even more
concentrated on Hamburg. More than 30% of cargo between Northern Europe and South America
was loaded or discharged in Hamburg.
With the inauguration of the Grand Alliance’s two Butterfly
services in July last year – that includes links with ports on the East and Gulf coasts
of North America, container traffic with the United States – that like Canada has now
succeeded in becoming one of Hamburg’s ten most important trading partners for seaborne
foreign trade – has grown by 75%. With the range of North American liner services now
available here, Hamburg is no longer overshadowed by Bremerhaven.
Last year 808.000 TEU were handled in seaborne trade
between and the countries of the Baltic region. Growth here of 20% compared to 1999 was
mainly attributable to the upswing in traffic with the Russian Federation.
Container traffic with Finland rose by 20%, and with the
Baltic countries by 39%. Triggering this growth was a surge in the volume of dispatches
via Hamburg to Finland (up 36%), Russia (up 139%) and the Baltic (up 62%).
The volume of conventional general cargo handled in 2000 was
unsatisfactory at 3.4 million t (a downturn of ten per cent).
The degree of containerization in Hamburg has now reached 93.1% (in
Anwerp – 65%, Rotterdam – about 78%, Bremen’s ports – 81%). Even such types of
goods as iron/steel and heavy cargo/project cargo are increasingly being transported in
containers.
Bulk cargo throughput in 2000 reached no less than 36.4 million but
failed by just 2.2% to match the 1999 total. This slight drop was prompted by 12.4%
reduction in liquid cargoes.
Throughput of dry bulk cargoes included rises in
throughput of suction goods (i.e. agribulk) and grab cargoes (e.g. coals/ore).
Hamburg companies
aim to strengthen their positions in the Baltic States
The port of Hamburg - the second largest
container port in Europe and the ninth among the biggest ports in the world - is the
leader in the North Europe in handling Russian transit cargo. From here Russian cargoes
reach all parts of the world.
Director of customer service department of the port of Hamburg Klaus
Peter Kont answered the questions of magazine Sea.
- What are the benefits of cooperation of
the Baltic States and Lithuania with the port of Hamburg?
- Hamburg is an important port where
transit cargo to the Baltic and the North Sea countries, including Norway and Denmark, are
handled. These countries carry over 800 thousand TEU a year via the port of Hamburg. We
are interested in the growth of trade with this region and the recent years show that it
has been intensifying.
Hamburg has come late to these countries. But now we are trying to
eliminate this shortage and to strengthen our positions in all Baltic ports, including
Lithuania, and in Russian ports of St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad.
We have induced one of the biggest Hamburg shipping companies Team
Line to work with these ports, because in the work of this company there was a gap in
this respect.
Team Lines has just recently faced to Klaipeda, as well as to
Riga and St. Petersburg. The company has realized the importance of connections with the
Baltic States and does not want to concentrate its activities only in the direction of St.
Petersburg or Finland. The company seeks to use all the outlets to the Russian market.
- Will the process of privatization of one
of the biggest Lithuanian shipping company (LISCO) have any impact on your business? What
do you think of LISCO privatization?
- Essentially, it will not have big influence.
If you have a client, there is no difference if the client is a private or a state-run
company. Although when dealing with a private company it is easier to use economic
arguments and such client makes quicker decisions. But it is important that in any case we
want to attract clients.
- Is it important to you, being one of the
biggest companies in the world, what company will become a new owner of LISCO?
- It makes no difference to us. We give no
preferences to anybody.
- Do you keep contacts with the marine
associations in Klaipeda Port?
- We exchange information but these contacts
are not regular. We stay in touch with some people, sometimes communicate via official
channels. But these relations are not on every-day basis. This certainly should change.
The more effectively and regularly we cooperate, the more attractive would Team Lines
become for Klaipeda port.
- What do you think of the role of
international exhibitions? What do you expect from the exhibition in November in Hamburg?
Some participants say that nothing new happens in the exhibitions of
this kind and the same partners meet. Don’t you think that exhibitions are losing their
importance?
- TransRussia international exhibition of this
year in Moscow was much better than previous years. We see that quite a lot of
companies set business contacts. I am sure that the carriers and container terminal
companies will get great benefit in the future. If more qualified visitors attend the
exhibitions, it will undoubtedly be more useful to participate in them in the future. We
visit 4-6 exhibitions per year.
- Don’t you think that the exhibition in Munich is the most
important transport event and that the exhibition in Hamburg Intermodal Europe will not
receive so much attention from the participants?
- I do not think so, because the exhibitions take place in
different periods of time with the difference of half a year between them. These
exhibitions are different. Every year the biggest transport exhibition in the world takes
place in Munich where one can see everything and all models of transport. And Intermodal
Europe is the exhibition of European level. But it is big enough and it is useful to
take part in it.
- What is the market activity of your port oriented to? What are the
main directions of marketing, which allow the port to develop and to become so popular?
- I think that the most useful thing is personal contacts with
the client. Of course, it is important to know who your client is and what an important
client means. But in any case it is very much important to know him personally.
Other things are also important, for instance, exchange of information
with the client, different meetings, keeping on stable relationship. Besides, it is
important to look for new clients permanently.
In our database we have all necessary information about the market. We
must acknowledge that there are hundreds of people in the port, working as operators of
the port, who themselves make contracts with the clients and who know their clients better
than anybody else. But they do not know about the trade relations in a wider sense and
have no information about other possible directions of work. Due to this reason
cooperation is beneficial.
- Thank you for the interview.
Kursiu
Linija – a reliable partner
The container shipping line Kursiu Linija, which
was founded in 1995 and was operated from the UK, now is registered in Lithuania. On 1
August this year UAB Arijus ir partneriai bought the right for the line. The
new company headquaters in Klaipeda and the new managing director is Donatas Jazukevicius.
Two sister ships of ice class - Mv Trenden and Mv Winden
– with carrying capacity of 350 teu each serve the line linking the Baltic ports of
Riga, Klaipeda and Kaliningrad with Immingham (north UK), Felixstowe, Rotterdam and
Hamburg. With fixed day weekly service the line offers not only standard containers, but
also specialized refrigerated containers and pallet wide high cube units. The latter offer
similar intake to road trailers, but have a cost advantage in comparison with overland
transportation.
One of the line’s aims is to eventually add further tonnage during
2002 to be able to offer greater capacity to exporters from the Baltic States as well as
to reduce the transit time so that to make the line a truly effective competitor to
trailer operators as well as preferable feeder partners for deep-sea carriers.
“It is an exciting time for the line as the export from the
Baltics is growing and the line is growing in line with these exports” says Mr.
Jazukevicius. |
