Port Of Hamburg

Hamburg is the geographical transport centre of a market with 5 million inhabitants. This strategic advantage makes Germany’s largest universal port and Europe’s third largest container port the ideal national and international logistics centre. Furthermore, Hamburg is consistently strengthening its international position as a leading trade and service partner. Especially in the sectors of port and transport economics, wind energy, trade, banking and insurances, media and new media as well as research, Hamburg is well-known and highly accredited worldwide.

In the first half of 2021, the port of Hamburg had a total turnover of 63.5 million tons of seaborne cargo were loaded or discharged at terminals in the Port of Hamburg.  This total turnover consists of 19.3 million tons of bulk cargo handling and 44.2 million tons of general cargo. Furthermore, 4.3 million TEU sea containers have been handled. With this amount of turnover, Hamburg is Germany’s biggest universal harbour.

The Port of Hamburg has four container terminals which provide fast and smooth container handling:

  • HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder
  • HHLA Container Terminal Burchardkai
  • HHLA Container Terminal Tollerort
  • Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg

142 km of public streets, almost 200 km of shoreline and bank revetment as well as the 388 km long port railway system connect 7,105 hectares of the port with the rest of the world.

Facts 2021(first half of the year)
Total Handling:  63.5 million tons
Container handling: 4.3 million TEU
Total volume of port-dependent jobs:  156,000 in the metropolitan area of Hamburg, 267,000 in Germany

Hamburg – and its significance for Indo-German trade

India is one of the ten most important trading partners of the Port of Hamburg (2017). Currently, four container liner services travel from Hamburg to India per week. Ship owning companies providing these services include Hapag-Lloyd, Hamburg Süd, MSC/CSAV/SCI and CMA CGM. In addition, Hamburg is an important hub for unit load, heavy cargo and ro-ro shipping. Between Hamburg and India, the following companies are providing cargo transport: Chipolbrok, Rickmers Linie, Höegh, OXL, MOL RoRo and SAL.

Germany is the sixth most important trading partner for India. Most frequently demanded goods are investment goods, such as machinery, electrotechnology, metals, chemical products, automobiles and auto parts.

Future prospects

Container handling at the Port of Hamburg is continuously increasing. The Altenwerder terminal is already the most innovative and modern container terminal in the world and creates a promising foundation for further economic growth and trade performance. In addition, after finishing the Fehmarn-Belt-Crossing, which is expected to be around 2026, Hamburg’s status as a logistics hub will become even more significant. The continuing globalisation, as well as the opening of the Eastern European markets, increasingly strengthen the Port of Hamburg’s central position within Europe.

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Find more information on investment and trading opportunities and doing business in Hamburg on our homepage.

India – an economy on the rise

India is emerging as one of Asia’s leading economic powers alongside China. It recently became the world’s most populous country, and few economies are growing as fast as India’s. With a GDP of around US$3.4 trillion, India is the world’s fifth largest economy in 2022 – and its government aims to become the third largest by 2030. India is also becoming an increasingly important trading partner for Germany. According to foreign trade statistics, both exports to and imports from India have increased significantly since 2015. The Port of Hamburg plays a central role as a hub for the exchange of goods between the two nations.

Click here for more information on the Port of Indian Economy.