Business association: bleak prospects for the port of Hamburg

The Port of Hamburg will continue to lose throughput this year. At least that is the assumption of the President of the Port of Hamburg Business Association, Gunther Bonz. He expects that for the first time Hamburg will no longer be one of the 20 most important ports in the world. About eight percent less goods than in 2021 arrived in Hamburg by ship or were sent from Hamburg to the world. The main reason is that trade with Russia has almost completely collapsed. The President of the Port of Hamburg Business Association expects this trend to continue. Hamburg could even lose its rank as the third largest port in Europe – behind Rotterdam and Antwerp. Bonz also blames a lack of backing in the Senate: “Some politicians in City Hall see the port primarily as a troublemaker and a quarry for urban development.

The Chamber of Crafts is also much more positive than the Hafen Hamburg business association: President Hjalmar Stemmann said that the downward trend could be stopped in 2023. Although numerous companies, such as bakeries and car repair shops, had to give up in the wake of Corona and rising energy prices, the trend is now pointing upwards.