Maritime Trade and Transport - HWWI

Crossing Paths at the Port of Hamburg
Inland harbors function as intersections between waterways, roads and railroads, and are
now developing more and more into regional centers of merchandise transport. Whereas
typical bulk and liquid goods such as coal, ore and mineral oils used to be dominant,
today high-value bulk and general cargo, as well as containerized goods, are handled to
an increasing extent. Although container transport on inland waterways is of relatively
low importance in Germany, only 4% of the overall load, growth in this segment is appre
ciable. The doubling of container transport by inland waterway vessel expected by
the Planco Institute 66 between 1997 and 2010 to 2 mn TEU could thus already be achieved
by 2008. If this development continues, and with appropriate expansion and support,
an increase in this segment to 4-5 mn TEU may be possible by the year 2030. 67
The most important German inland port is Duisburg, with merchandise handling
of over 49 mn t. Thanks to its favorable location in the hinterlands of the ARA (Amster -
dam, Rotterdam, Antwerp) ports, 90% of merchandise traded with foreign countries is
handled here. The Port of Hamburg, with cargo handling of over 11 mn t, only holds
third place in inland waterway transport. Thanks to the noticeable increase in domestic
commerce during the past year, however, its cargo volume rose by almost 25%, while the
two larger inland ports, Duisburg and Cologne, only recorded increases of 1% and 2%.
The advantage of the Port of Hamburg in regard to domestic transport is its geographical
location inland, which means that part of the relatively expensive transport to and
from the hinterland is eliminated. On the route between Hong Kong and Prague via the
Port of Hamburg, for example, 80% of the total transport costs fall to the segment between
Hamburg and Prague, although this portion is merely 3.4% of the entire distance. 68
In the hinterland traffic of the Port of Hamburg, trucks continue to play the dominant
role. This applies particularly to container transport, with a share of over 50%. In
feeder traffic for short sea shipping to Scandinavia, the Baltic states, and Eastern Europe,
Share of transport modes in hinterland traffic of the Port of Hamburg 2003
Inland
waterway
ship
Fig. 16
Railroad ad
Feeder
ship
66 See Planco Consulting GmbH (2003).
67 Calculation Berenberg Bank.
68 See Bundesamt für Güterverkehr (2005b).
Total Container
rship 15%
ship 21,4%
43% Truck T
10%
32%
Inland
waterway
ship
Railroad d
Feeder
1,4%
24,3%
52,9%
Truck
Source: Bundesamt für Güterverkehr
Berenberg Bank · HWWI: Strategy 2030 · No. 4
119