HAMBURG (dpa-AFX) - The Port of Hamburg handled fewer goods last year than in 2022, with a total of 114.3 million tons of seaborne cargo crossing the quayside, said Axel Mattern, Head of Port of Hamburg Marketing, on Tuesday. That was 4.7 percent less than in 2022, with imports accounting for 65.6 million tons and exports 48.6 million tons.

"We have another particularly challenging year behind us in 2023, we have to deal with slowing momentum in global trade, we continue to see reduced demand in all of the Port of Hamburg's key markets," said Mattern. Nevertheless, he expressed confidence for 2024 without making a forecast. "With the development of our handling figures, we are on a par with the Northern European competitive environment and can hold our own compared to other ports."

Container throughput fell by 6.9 percent to 7.7 million standard containers (TEU). In 2022, 8.3 million were still handled. In the previous year, it was 8.7 million TEU. Hamburg remains in third place among the so-called North Range ports - which include the ports on the North Sea coast of continental Europe that are relevant for container handling - with Rotterdam and Antwerp in first and second place./klm/DP/mis