Mixed performance of the ports of Europe in 2019

Vying for position between No. 4 and No. 8

Europe's main ports have published their results for 2019, showing that total container throughput in the 15 most important ports in Europe saw an increase of 2.8% compared to 2018. However, growth rates were considerably lower than in 2018 (4.7%) and 2017 (4.6%).

The positions of the three main European container ports Rotterdam, (14.81 million teu) Antwerp (11.86 million teu) and Hamburg (9.26 million teu) remain firm. While Rotterdam volumes declined by 2.1%, Antwerp grew by a notable 6.8%. Hamburg, which had lost traffic in recent years, boosted its container traffic by 6.1% in 2019.

These three ports handled more than 35.9 million teu in 2019 (+ 4.6%), an equivalent to 45.4% of the combined volumes of the first 15 ports.

The Greek port of Piraeus, a Chinese gateway, again registered a double-digit growth (+15.1%) in 2019, which brings it close to the results of the Spanish ports of Valencia (5.44 million teu or +5.0%) and Algeciras (5.12 million teu or + 7.3%) - despite the equally remarkable improvement in these two Spanish ports. (mw)