Hamburg boosted container traffic 10.7 percent in the first nine months of the year from a year ago but trailed growth at its larger rivals Rotterdam and Antwerp.
Europe's third largest box port handled 5.9 million 20-foot equivalent units in the nine months to the end of September and forecast the full year figure will rise to around 8 million TEUs.
Hamburg slipped further behind top ranked Rotterdam, which increased traffic in the first nine months 17 percent to 8.4 million TEUs, and Antwerp, which was up 16.9 percent at 6.3 million TEUs.
Hamburg has benefited from a surge in traffic with Asia, especially China, and higher feeder shipments in the Baltic, driven mainly by increased Russian imports.
But the predicted full year traffic of 8 million TEUs is short of the all time high of 10 million TEUs in 2008.
Hamburg's total cargo volume rose 8 percent from a year ago to 89.4 million metric tons, again trailing Rotterdam, where traffic jumped 31.4 percent to 321 million tons, and Antwerp, which was up 13.2 percent at 132.2 million tons.
The Journal of Commerce Online
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