Bremen ports report 11% jump in first-half box traffic

Bremen ports report 11% jump in first-half box traffic    The German ports of Bremerhaven and Bremen saw their combined container traffic rise by 11.4 percent, to
1.59 million TEUs in the first half of this year, as cargo volumes on the Asian and U.S. Atlantic routes rose strongly.
   Container traffic to and from Asia soared by 16.8 percent in the first six months of this year, to 362,352 TEUs. The ports cited in particular the growth of trade with China.
   The ports noted that traffic on the Asian route is now nearly equal in volume to the transatlantic trade, traditionally the strongest market for the Bremen ports.
   Box traffic to and from the Atlantic seaboard of North America, showed a 9.1 percent increase in volume in the first half, to 350,543 TEUs.
   Container volumes between Bremen/Bremerhaven and other European ports rose by 7.6 percent over the same period, to 614,772 TEUs. Within Europe, growth to and from Russia and the Baltic states, was particularly rapid, with a volume gain of 16.8 percent.