PORT OF HAMBURG REPORTS STEADY VOLUME GROWTH

PORT OF HAMBURG REPORTS STEADY VOLUME GROWTH    The port of Hamburg handled 2.26 million TEUs in the first six months of the year, an increase of 11.8 percent over the same period last year.
   The German port said that its double-digit volume gain outpaced the growth rates of other main container ports in northern Europe in the current trade slowdown environment.
   “Whereas growth in containers handled in northern Europe slumped from an average (growth rate) of 9.1 percent in 2000 to 4.1 percent in the first half of 2001, Hamburg’s container terminals achieved an 11.8 percent advance,” a spokesman for the port said.
   The port of Hamburg said that it has attracted new liner services this year and increased its market share.
   Total seaborne volume handled in the port of Hamburg was 45 million tons in the first half of the year, an increase of 10.8 percent.
   However, the German port warned of concerns over the global trade downturn.
   “The dent in growth in container traffic evident in the majority of major seaports worldwide is giving reason for concern,” a spokesman for the port of Hamburg said. “Four of the world’s ten largest container ports have reported downturns in the first half of 2001.”