Axel Mattern News

Germany's ruling coalition is divided over whether to let China's Cosco take a stake in a Hamburg port terminal, government sources say, even as Beijing urges Berlin not to politicize the bid and the port authority warns this could hurt the economy.Shipping giant Cosco last year made a bid to take a 35% stake in one of three terminals in Germany's largest port in the northern city of Hamburg.The German government's response is being seen as a gauge of how far it is willing to toughen its stance on China…

Europe's third largest harbor, the German Port of Hamburg, reported a 2.9% hike in sea cargo in the first nine months of 2021 on Tuesday but warned that global transport chains would remain volatile for the rest of the year.Global trade has been marred by logjams in container ports caused by disruptions from unexpected demand spurts, labour shortages and traffic snarl-ups amid the coronavirus pandemic.The crisis has weighed particularly heavily on Germany, which is Europe's largest…

The Port of Hamburg, responding to reports of bottlenecks in the supply of empty containers, conducted a flash poll this week asking shipping lines about the current situation and found that shipping lines see no appreciable scarcity of equipment in Hamburg and other German seaports, with no shortages expected to arise.According to Port of Hamburg Marketing (HHM), the shipping lines mentioned several factors that provide for a stable supply of empty equipment. Most shipping companies plan their disposition of empty boxes about three to four weeks in advance.

Port of Hamburg announced that mega-ships will from now on find it easy to pass through the Elbe fairway.Vessels with a combined width of up to 98 meters can now pass each other in a widened section of the Elbe in Germany known as the “passing box.” The five-kilometer stretch now has a width of 385 meters, said the Port of Hamburg.“With the initial fairway widenings of the Elbe, meanwhile completed, we are on a good course, immediately improving the conditions for calls by mega-ships,” said Axel Mattern, Joint CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing. “For shipping and our port customers, this is really gratifying news for the start of the year.” The holding area at Brunsbüttel has also been completed.

Germany's largest port, the Port of Hamburg not expecting reduction in container throughput caused by liner service changes announced by Ocean Alliance and Maersk.From April, the Ocean Alliance NEU 5 service handled by EUROGATE Container Terminal Hamburg – CTH is being transferred to Antwerp, said a press release from the a sea port on the river Elbe in Hamburg, Germany, 110 kilometres from its mouth on the North Sea."This service will be run by the Ocean Alliance Partner, CMA CGM as FAL 3 with an approximate annual volume of 150,000 TEU," it said.Going forward, according to CMA CGM, the entire container volume carried until now to and from Hamburg by this service will be handled by the five Ocean Alliance liner services continuing to call in Hamburg.

Germany’s largest universal port Port of Hamburg remains on a growth course, achieving a distinct 4.1% advance to 69.4 million tons in seaborne cargo handling in the first half of 2019."Especially good growth trend in the general cargo segment, up 6.1 percent at 48.4 million tons, was the main contributor to the excellent figures for total and container handling," said a press release from the third-busiest port in Europe.The total for bulk cargo handling was just 0.3 percent lower than for last year’s first half at 21.0 million tons.The 7.5 percent increase in container handling to 4.7 million TEU is primarily attributable to the four new liner services that have linked the Hanseatic City with ports in the USA…

Germany’s largest universal port is again on a growth path, achieving a distinct advance in the first quarter of 2019 with seaborne cargo throughput ahead by 6.0 percent at 34.6 million tons.Both general cargo throughput at 23.9 million tons - up 5.4 percent- and bulk cargo throughput at 10.7 million tons - up 7.5 percent – rose substantially in the first three months.The gratifying 6.4 percent increase in container handling to 2.3 million TEU is primarily attributable to four liner services new to Hamburg and linking the Hanseatic City with ports in the USA, Canada and Mexico.A total 121,000 TEU for container transport with the USA represented an almost fourfold jump, catapulting the USA into second place among Hamburg’s top trading partners on container traffic.

Handling 135.1 million tons of seaborne cargoes (down one percent), Germany’s largest universal port can report a respectable result for 2018.Hamburg successfully asserted itself in a difficult environment, achieving a distinct advance on railborne seaport-hinterland transport. In 2018, this category accounted for totals of 46.8 million tons – up 2.7 percent – and 2.44 million TEU – up 4.7 percent.More than 60,000 cargo trains with around 1.6 million freight cars were handled during 2018 on the Port Railway network alone. This topped the record total set in 2016 and extended Hamburg’s position as Europe’s leading rail port.Jens Meier, CEO of Hamburg Port Authority, says: "The positive figures for the Port Railway are a success that we achieved together with our partners last year.

The Port of Hamburg and Metrans Group are intensifying their links with Lithuanian Railways. Axel Mattern, Joint CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing, and Egidijus Lazauskas, Deputy Director-General and Director Freight Traffic for Lithuanian Railways, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Vilnius to strengthen cooperation on the routes to and from the Port of Hamburg.In addition, Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG - HHLA’s intermodal subsidiary Metrans, and Lithuanian Railways signed a Letter of Intent to promote and improve cross-border freight flows.For years, the Lithuanian economy has been experiencing a tremendous upswing. In the first quarter of 2018…

The Port of Hamburg will soon be able to welcome 20,000+ TEU containerships as the plan to dredge the river Elbe has finally received the approval from German authorities.A third supplementary planning procedure requested by the Federal Administrative Court has been conducted by the planning agencies responsible for the major project. The legal preliminaries are therefore in place that will enable construction to start.“This is very good news for our trading and shipping customers worldwide and for the whole Hamburg Metropolitan Region,” said Axel Mattern, Joint CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing.“We have waited a long time for today and are now hoping for rapid implementation,” added Ingo Egloff, his Executive Board colleague.

A delegation from Hamburg was in China from 14 to 18 May, visiting companies in Zhengzhou, Shanghai and Hangzhou. Organized by Port of Hamburg Marketing (HHM) in cooperation with the Hamburg Representative Office in Shanghai, the delegation’s tour was led by Axel Mattern, HHM’s Joint CEO, and Mathias Schulz, its Head of Market Development Asia. The delegation included representatives of TCO Transcargo, Rostock Port, Trelleborgs Hamn, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) and Hamburg Invest. The focus was on discussions with leading import and export companies, along with Chinese logistics providers for sea and rail services. In addition, the delegation was extremely impressed by developments on the expansion of Chinese infrastructure.

In the last business year, the high quality services provided by the Port of Hamburg’s operators has lead to a stable handling result comparable with the previous year. With the impending adjustment to the Elbe fairway, potential for growth will be enhanced. Through investments in infrastructure the Port of Hamburg counts among the cutting edge hubs on the international sea trades. At the same time, companies are driving change in the port with the development of digital business models. At 136.5 million tons, in 2017 seaborne cargo throughput in Hamburg, comprising general and bulk cargoes, was stable at a high level. A slight downturn occurred in handling of containerized general cargo at 8.8 million TEU (20-ft standard containers), being one percent lower.

Comprising the general and bulk cargo segments, seaborne cargo handling in Hamburg during the first nine months at 104.3 million tons was at a stable level. At 6.8 million TEU (20-ft standard containers), throughput of containerized general cargoes continued to grow; while at 34.1 million tons, bulk cargo throughput remained just below the previous year’s figure. For Port of Hamburg Marketing, the excellent trend in container traffic with Canada is a gratifying pointer. The port’s marketing organization sees the CETA free trade agreement as providing an additional boost for seaborne trade that will benefit the Port of Hamburg. "On container throughput, a total of 6.8 million TEU (up 0.4 percent) represented a renewal of slight growth.

At 70 million tons, first-half seaborne cargo throughput in Hamburg in 2017, including the general and bulk cargo segments, all but matched the previous year’s, being only one-fifth of one percent (0.2%) lower. In the first six months of 2017 containerized general cargo throughput at 4.45 million TEU (20-ft standard containers) was at the previous year’s level. Up by one percent at 23.5 million tons, bulk cargo throughput in Germany’s largest universal port continued to grow. "In the first half of 2017 the Port of Hamburg generally succeeded in asserting itself in a difficult environment, producing a stable result compared to other German ports in the North Range," said Axel Mattern, Joint CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing.

At 104.9 million tons, total seaborne cargo throughput for the first three quarters of 2016, covering general and bulk cargo segments, was up 0.3 percent on the previous year. “Seaborne cargo throughput in the Port of Hamburg has stabilized and for the first three quarters of 2016 again increased. Seen separately, the third quarter with a 2.7 percent upturn to 34.7 million tons underlines the upwards trend. Both general and bulk cargo volumes developed positively for Germany’s largest universal port,” said Axel Mattern, Joint CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing. The trend for seaport-hinterland rail transport was also maintained. “By comparison with other leading European ports, in the first three quarters of 2016 Hamburg further expanded freight volumes transported by rail.

First-half seaborne cargo throughput of 70.2 million tons reflected stabilization of the trend for the Port of Hamburg. At the same time, a steep increase occurred in freight transport by rail to/from the Port of Hamburg. At 70.2 million tons, in the first half total seaborne cargo throughput, which includes the general and bulk cargo segments, was slightly – 0.9 percent – down on the previous year. In the first six months of 2016 containerized cargo handling totalled 4.5 million TEU – 20-ft standard containers – corresponding to a downturn of 1.2 percent.

On 19 May, Ziemelblazma Culture Palace in Riga, the Latvian capital was the venue for a meeting between numerous representatives of the Ports of Liepaja, Riga, Ventspils, Lübeck, Kiel and Hamburg. This was hosted by the three Latvian ports and Port of Hamburg Marketing (HHM). For Marina Basso Michael, Head of Market Development for the Baltic Region and Eastern Europe for HHM, and Axel Mattern, CEO of HHM, Riga was an excellent place to hold the first “German-Latvian Maritime Forum”. The two HHM representatives pointed out that current topics and challenges on the overall economic development of the Baltic region closely link all the ports participating in the event.

The Port of Hamburg reports higher bulk cargo throughput and strong growth in rail and inland waterway seaport-hinterland traffic in 2015 – downturn in container handling. In 2015 seaborne cargo throughput in the Port of Hamburg was 5.4 percent lower at 137.8 million tons. In Hamburg as a universal port, growth in bulk cargo throughput was maintained in 2015. In this important handling segment, total volume of 45.5 million tons represented growth of 5.8 percent on the previous year.

The Port of Hamburg handled total throughput of 35.6 million tons (up by 0.1 percent) in the first quarter of 2015. Bulk cargoes at 11.7 million tons (up by 12.3 percent) and container transport between the port and its hinterland at 602,000 TEU (up by 11.1 percent) were the strongest contributors to throughput growth. “We can be satisfied overall with the first-quarter trend in seaborne cargo throughput. Even if a slight 4.9 percent downturn in general cargo throughput at 23.9 million tons slightly dampens our satisfaction…

With total throughput of around 110 million tons, the Port of Hamburg set a new record in the first nine months of 2014. Almost all throughput segments contributed to a growth of 5.7 percent. Container handling, which dominates in Hamburg as a universal port, also achieved a record mark of 7.4 million TEU (20-ft standard containers). Gaining 6.4 percent here, Hamburg is growing faster than competing ports in Northern Europe. These reported average growth of 1.9 percent in total throughput and of 4 percent for container handling.

The Port of Hamburg will handle a 19,100-TEU vessel for the first time, as CSCL Globe, currently the world’s largest containership operating in a liner service, is ported in Hamburg from January 13-15 on its maiden voyage deployed in the Europe-East Asia trade. This year, China is due to again further expand its position as Hamburg’s leading trading partner for container traffic, the port noted. On the basis of the first evaluation of 2014 throughput figures for container traffic with China, Port of Hamburg Marketing assumes that the three-million-TEU mark will be reached.

Germany’s largest universal port reported the effects of weakened Chinese foreign trade plus the steep downturn in trade with Russia during the first nine months of the year. Totaling 104.6 million tons, seaborne cargo throughput in Hamburg was down 4.8 percent from last year, despite higher bulk cargo handling in the first three quarters of 34.3 million, up 8.7 percent. Meanwhile, container throughput in the first nine months totaled 6.7 million TEU, down by 9.2 percent. The downward trend in container traffic with Russia appears to have ceased and stability to be setting in.

The Port of Hamburg achieved its best-ever result in 2014, reporting total throughput of 145.7 million tons, representing growth of 4.8 percent. Up by 6.1 percent at 102.7 million tons, general cargo throughput was outstanding. A 1.7 percent increase in bulk cargo throughput to 43 million tons also contributed to the new record for Germany’s largest universal port. In 2014 the Port of Hamburg set a new record for seaborne cargo handling. Never before had such cargo volumes been loaded and discharged in the Port of Hamburg.