The Port of Hamburg faces challenges in H1 2026 with a 3.1% drop in cargo throughput, impacted by modernization and geopolitical tensions.
The Port of Hamburg looks back on a challenging first half of 2026. With a total throughput of 56.1 million tonnes, Germany's largest seaport recorded a 3.1 percent decline compared with the same period last year. Having largely offset the weather-related losses from January by the end of the first quarter, the result was characterized by ongoing terminal modernization and a decline in petroleum product imports due to the war in Iran.
In the first two quarters of 2026, a total of 4.0 million TEU were handled at the Port of Hamburg. In the same period last year, volumes were 3.8 percent higher in TEU and 4.0 percent higher in tonnes. Ongoing modernization measures by HHLA, which will enable more efficient handling in the future, have led to reduced terminal capacity in the past quarter.
Trade increased with Singapore (+13.1 percent), Finland (+24.7 percent), India (+7.2 percent), and Morocco (+4.7 percent). Overall, however, the market environment remains challenging. The decline in cargo handling with the US is particularly marked (-13.5 percent), but negative trends in container handling were also recorded with China and the UK in the first half of 2026.
In the bulk cargo segment, cargo throughput totalled 15.9 million tonnes, around 1.1 percent below the figure for the same period last year. Whilst throughput of liquid bulk cargo fell significantly by 14.0 percent, that of dry bulk cargo grew by 4.2 percent. The pressure on global energy markets caused by the war in Iran has led to lower petroleum imports and a decline in biodiesel throughput since April. This has been countered by significant growth in ore imports and grain exports.
The handling of conventional general cargo is subject to significant fluctuations, given the cargo's high value and the comparatively small number of handling operations. In the first half of 2026, total volume was 535 thousand tonnes, a significant decline of 5.0 percent, primarily due to lower exports of steel products; however, this decline was less pronounced than at the end of the first quarter.