Business Activities

As an integrated handling, transport and logistics provider, the Port Logistics subgroup offers services along the logistics chain between international ports and their European hinterland. The geographical focus of its operating activities is on the Port of Hamburg and its hinterland. The Port of Hamburg is an international hub for container transport by sea and land, with an optimal hinterland link to the economies of Central and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and the Baltic region. The company’s core lines of business are represented by the Container, Intermodal and Logistics segments.

The Container segment pools the Group’s container handling operations and is the largest business unit in terms of revenue and earnings. The Group’s activities in this segment consist primarily of handling container ships (the loading and discharging of containers) and transferring containers to other carriers (rail, truck, feeder ship or barge). HHLA operates three container terminals in Hamburg – Altenwerder (CTA), Burchardkai (CTB) and Tollerort (CTT) – and another container terminal in Odessa, Ukraine (CTO). The portfolio is rounded off by supplementary container services, such as maintenance and repairs.

The Intermodal segment is the second-largest of HHLA’s segments in terms of revenue and earnings. As a further key element of HHLA’s business model, which is vertically integrated along the transport chain, the segment provides a comprehensive rail and truck network for seaport-hinterland traffic and, increasingly, continental traffic. While the two rail companies – Metrans and Polzug – operate regular direct connections between the ports on the North and Baltic seas and between the Northern Adriatic and its hinterland, the inland terminals provide a comprehensive range of services for maritime logistics. In addition to transshipment services at the Port of Hamburg, the trucking subsidiary CTD transports containers by road, both locally and over long-haul distances within Europe.

The Logistics segment encompasses a wide range of complementary contract and warehouse logistics, specialist handling services and consulting. Its service portfolio comprises both stand-alone logistics services and entire process chains for the international procurement and distribution of merchandise, including the operation of handling facilities for dry bulk, motor vehicles and fruit, as well as the processing of cruise ships. In this segment, the company also provides consulting and management services for clients in the international port and transport industry. Some of these logistics services are provided together with partner companies.

The Holding/Other division is also part of the Port Logistics subgroup, although it does not constitute a separate segment as defined by the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The Holding division is responsible for strategic corporate development, the functional management of the Container segment, the central management of resources and processes, and the provision of shared services for the operating companies. It also includes the properties specific to HHLA’s port handling business and the Group’s floating crane operations.

The Real Estate segment corresponds to the Real Estate subgroup. Its business activities encompass the development, letting and commercial and technical facility management of properties in the Port of Hamburg’s peripheral area. These include the Speicherstadt historical warehouse district, the world’s largest traditional warehouse quarter. In this central location, HHLA offers around 300,000 m² of commercial space. Other prime properties totalling around 63,000 m² are managed by Fischmarkt Hamburg-Altona GmbH in the exclusive fish market area on the river Elbe’s northern banks.

For further information on the performance of each segment, see also Segment Performance