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Europe’s largest container stevedore surpasses 14 million TEU for first time since 2008
For the first time since 2008, the Eurogate Group handled more than 14 million TEU last year.
With its Mediterranean and Atlantic terminals reporting double-digit growth during, the Bremen-based company moved 14.2 million TEU in the twelve-month period, up seven percent over the previous year.
Eurogate-operated terminals in the Italian Mediterranean region, including the transhipment terminals Gioia Tauro and Cagliari, reported a particularly strong year with volumes climbing 11 percent, while Atlantic terminals in Tangier and Lisbon saw container traffic rise by 84 percent and 16 percent respectively.
“The very positive result for the Eurogate Group as a whole should not blind us to the fact that the market for container transport is currently undergoing a sea change,” explains a cautious Thomas Eckelmann, chairman of the Eurogate management board.
“This market has changed profoundly over the past five years.”
“Shipping lines put their faith in just a few major consortiums, which implies both opportunities and risks for the seaports.”
“The individual terminals are facing strong competition.”
“Our outstanding overall result clearly shows on the other hand that the Eurogate Group is excellently positioned to adapt to changing market conditions.”
“We see more opportunities than risks, especially since the world’s three biggest shipping lines, Maersk Line, MSC and CMA CGM (P3), have a stake in varying constellations in some of our most strategically important terminals.”
Despite the strong overall result, Eurogate experienced mixed fortunes at its German terminals reflecting the volatile container market. The Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg for its part gained very positive momentum, increasing handling volumes by 8 percent to just short of 2 million TEU, whereas the company’s Bremerhaven facility reported a five percent drop in volumes compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, Eurogate’s deep-water container terminal in Wilhelmshaven, which went into operation at the end of 2012, is still struggling to gain a foothold in the European container market handling just 76,000 TEU in 2013.
