The ports in Bremen and Bremerhaven have achieved a total of 4.771 million TEU during the Covid-19 hit 2020, which represents a slight decrease compared with 2019 figures, with the year-on-year downward trend since 2016 to continue.
However, the German port complex has achieved an increase of 3.1% in its total throughput, reaching approximately 1.75 billion tons during the first three months of the year, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“2020 was an exceptional year for our ports because of the pandemic, which means that the figures can only be compared with those of previous years to a certain extent,” commented Senator Claudia Schilling.
The ports in Bremen and Bremerhaven have announced that container trade with China overtook the US for the first time in 2020, while the number of mega container vessels with a draught of more than 13.50 metres continues to rise.
Furthermore, the railway also plays an increasingly important role in the transport of containerised freight and accounts for a share of almost 50%, according to an announcement.
“The statistics clearly illustrate the important role that the ports of Bremen play for Germany as an industrial nation,” said Claudia Schilling.
While China, Russia and Norway hold the top 3 places in terms of import, the US remains the undisputed top partner for export trade, ranking far ahead of China and Belgium, according to a statement.
Additionally, a total of 5,978 ships were dispatched at the quays of Bremen’s ports, a figure which breaks down into 2,359 container vessels, 1,295 general cargo vessels and 1,091 ro-ro vessels/car carriers.
