Sector development

According to the market research institute Drewry, global container throughput is continuing its downward trend. After already declining in the fourth quarter of 2022 (- 0.2 %) and the first quarter of 2023 (- 2.8 %), recent estimates also indicate that fewer containers were handled at ports around the world between April and June. However, the expected 1.3 % decline in throughput in the second quarter compared with the same quarter last year is thought to have slowed, according to the experts.

Throughput volumes at the European ports declined for the fifth consecutive quarter, with a progressively stronger downturn each quarter until the end of March. The Europe shipping region recorded a significant fall in volumes of 9.3 % in the first quarter of 2023. The worst affected were the Scandinavia and Baltic shipping regions (- 23.4 %), as well as North-West Europe (- 11.5 %). The reasons include shrinking economic output in the eurozone and the effects of the war in Ukraine. The major European hubs will continue to be negatively affected by the loss of Russian business. Drewry also expects a decline in container throughput at European ports for the second quarter of 2023.

The throughput figures for the North Range ports reported so far confirm Drewry’s forecast for regional development in the second quarter. Following a severe slump in container volumes in Rotterdam of 11.6 % in the first quarter, volume losses for the first half-year remained at 8.2 %. A total of 6.7 million standard containers (TEU) were handled, as of 30 June 2023. Antwerp-Bruges reported a decrease of 5.2 % to 6.4 million TEU for the first half-year. At the time of reporting, comparable data for the first half of 2023 was not yet available for all ports in the German Bight. In the period from January to May, container throughput volumes at the Bremen ports declined by 16.5 % year-on-year. In Wilhelmshaven, volumes fell by as much as 20.4 % in the first three months of 2023. The Port of Hamburg recorded a decline in volumes of 16.9 % to 1.9 million TEU for the first quarter of 2023.