In the first quarter of this year the port of Hamburg has handled 28.1 million tons of goods, volume that represents a decrease of -10.2% on the corresponding period of 2022 and The sixth consecutive quarterly decline recorded by the airport German. To trace a lower volume of traffic handled In the first three months of a year it is necessary to go back to the now distant 2009 when the port activity had been affected by the relevant Impact of the global financial crisis and when in the first quarter had been enlivened 27.1 million tons of Loads.

Particularly consistent, in the first three months of 2023, is was the reduction in the volume of containerized trade which is amounted to 18,6 million tons (15.9%) and that was achieved with a container handling of 1.9 million of teu (-16.9%). The port authority of Hamburg has announced that it is continued the growth of containerized trade with the USA that In the first trimester of this year it has been pairs to 152 thousand teu (+9.5%), with the United States confirming its second largest commercial partner of the Port of Hamburg after China; increasingly container traffic with Canada has also been attested to 52 thousand teu (+31.7%).

The German harbour authority has not released the preliminary data on conventional goods handled during the first three months of this year, given that it should be close to 200 thousand tons and half of what was totaled in the same period of 2022.

The overall quarterly decrease in traffic is was contained by the increase of +5.4% of bulk volumes that amounted to 9.3 million tons, with loads liquids equal to approximately 2.6 million tons and an increase in +12.3% - including imports of petroleum products that have marked a rise of +27.4% -, while the dry bulk has been about 6.7 million tons compared to 6.4 million in the first three months of last year.

Commenting on the performance of the first quarter of 2023, Port of Hamburg Marketing Managing Director Axel Mattern, pointed out that, "comparing the results quarterly reports of the current year and last year, it should be noted that at the beginning of last year Russia was the fourth partner commercial of the port of Hamburg. After the war of aggression against Ukraine - recalled Mattern - have entered into force Sanctions that are reflected in this comparison: the volumes of goods to and from Russia are now missing from the overall figure. To this the economic situation has been added temporarily unstable in China due to the pandemic, which has continued even in the current year'. In addition, the port authority has specified that local strikes have also had an impact on Port results.