Sweden fills fourth place in the Top Ten of the Port of Hamburg trading partners and is a strong economy. With 11.8 percent growth to 334,000 TEU in 2018, the kingdom made a positive showing among Baltic container traffic services. Sweden actually ranks second among trading partners in Europe. With the advance based on loaded boxes, the process of catching up is already in its second year.

Hamburg is linked with Sweden by eleven liner services that operate weekly as a rule. Along with Stockholm, these serve the ports of Ahus, Gävle, Gothenburg, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Malmö, Norrköping, Pitea and Södertalje. Both feeder vessels and others operated by overseas shipowners are involved. Slot capacities are between 500 and 1,600 TEU. Containers on both intra-continental short-sea routes and intercontinental transhipment are transported. Along with Hamburg, the North German ports of Kiel and Brunsbüttel also profit from Sweden's economic strength. Nine weekly sailings link the Port of Kiel with those of Gothenburg, Malmö, Sundsvall, Umeå and Iggesund. Since March 2017, SCHRAMM Ports & Logistics Sweden, a subsidiary of Brunsbüttel Ports, has held a majority stake in Swedish port operator and logistics provider Söderhamns Stuveri & Hamn AB - SSHAB. In the Söderhamn region, SSHAB is the operator or logistics provider at a total of six port terminals.

Aiming to boost existing links, Port of Hamburg Marketing joined the Port of Kiel and SCHRAMM Ports & Logistics in hosting a "German-Swedish Port Event in Stockholm" on 28 March 2019. Hans-Jürgen Heimsoeth, German Ambassador to Sweden, also participated. A total of 80 guests from transport and industrial companies, shippers, shipping companies and trade associations attended the event, which was being held for the first time.

"Ever since the Hanse era, Hamburg and Sweden have enjoyed a close relationship," said Ingo Egloff, Joint CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing. "In recent years, links to Sweden and the cargo share on these has increased satisfactorily, and we hope that this trend will continue."

"We want to grow further along with our Swedish partners," said Timo Rosenberg, Director Marketing/Sales for the Port of Kiel. "In future we shall be aiming more at expanding intermodal services as well as marketing of new sites in the port. In addition, our tailormade IT solutions offer our customers optimal conditions for operating effectively in Kiel."

Frank Schnabel, Managing Director of Brunsbüttel Ports and CEO of SCHRAMM Ports & Logistics Sweden, explained: "After more than two years, we can confirm that venturing the corporate move to Sweden has proved to be absolutely the right decision. Swedish mentality and the corporate culture of Söderhamns Stuveri & Hamn closely resemble our own, and we have already been able to learn a lot from one another."

Marina Basso Michael, responsible for developing the Baltic market at Port of Hamburg Marketing, drew a positive conclusion on the spot: "Our Stockholm event offered an essential platform for further exchanges between existing and potential trading partners. Swedish and German companies, but ports too, benefit equally from that."

Port of Hamburg Marketing