According to a recent survey, the Port of Helsinki has significant positive effects on the regional economy and employment rates in the municipalities in and around the Helsinki region. The total value of the business operations related to the Port of Helsinki in 2015 was 1.6 billion euros, and the operations employed approximately 15,000 people. In addition to the regional level, the effects practically span throughout the country.

An impact assessment ordered by the Port of Helsinki and carried out by the Brahea Centre at the University of Turku studied the effects of the traffic through the Port of Helsinki, as well as the related operations on the regional economy in and around the Helsinki region. 20 fields of operations related to the passenger and cargo traffic passing through the Port of Helsinki were looked at. The results are based on statistics from 2015, as well as corporate interviews.

The annual financial effects add up to 2.6 billion euros

The value of the business operations related to the Port, combined with the other income effects of the location, bring the total economical value of the financial effects of the port up to 2.6 billion euros per year. The operations related to the Port employ a total of 15,000 people.
Storage services and operations that serve traffic are by far the largest branch, when measured in employment effects. Passenger traffic, sea traffic passenger transport, is the second largest.

Effects of passenger traffic are significant for several branches

Helsinki’s share of sea passenger traffic between mainland Finland and other countries is approximately 80%.
The total income for the Helsinki region in 2015 from passengers who travel through the Port of Helsinki was 805 million euros.
The direct and indirect effects of passenger traffic are also significant to many other branches than those studied here. Due to the large number of passengers, the hotel and restaurant branch companies and retail businesses in the Helsinki region are among those who benefit from the money spent by those leaving or arriving by sea.

Half of the tonnage and units of Finnish sea transport runs through Helsinki

According to the study by the Brahea Centre, the Port of Helsinki’s share of the total general cargo tonnage of Finnish ports was approximately 50%, which describes the effects of the Port on the entire country. The data is based on statistics and cargo type classifications by the Finnish Transport Agency. The large share and significance of unitised transport is characteristic of Helsinki.
The Port of Helsinki covers 54% of the units transported as rubber-wheeled traffic, i.e. trucks and trailers. In TEUs (twenty feet equivalent unit), 31% of Finnish container traffic runs through the Port of Helsinki.

The value of the goods transported through the Port of Helsinki is higher than average, due to the high portion of unitised cargo traffic. The traffic mostly consists of semi-finished and finished products, which on average are more valuable than other goods in foreign goods traffic. Based on the study by the Brahea Centre, the value of the goods transported through the Port of Helsinki in 2015 was estimated at approximately 45 billion euros, which is around 50% of the total value of sea transport in Finland (88.4 billion euros).
In addition to the regional effects studied in this survey, the effects of the goods and passenger transport through the Port of Helsinki spread through most of Finland. Goods imported through the Port of Helsinki are sold in stores in Northern Finland, and products from all around Finland are exported to other countries.

Effects on construction not included in the survey

Every year, Port of Helsinki Ltd makes massive investments in the development of the port infrastructure. The annual average over the past ten years has been around 55 million euros. The investments affect several branches directly and indirectly, such as the many sub-branches of construction, which are not included in the economical assessment performed in this survey.
The turnover of Port of Helsinki Ltd in 2015 was 90 million euros, with investments at 55 million euros. The company employed 160 people.

Port of Helsinki Ltd