Record container traffic between Hamburg and U.S.

Nils Haupt, Hapag-Lloyd’s Senior Director Corporate Communications, remarked: “After the steep decline at the start of the pandemic, North America posted a gradual recovery, which has massively accelerated since the second quarter of this year. Strong growth in the market is also reflected in both export and import volumes." Volumes have grown since 2019. The four additional transatlantic services AL-1 to AL-4 have made the U.S. Hamburg's second most important partner country. Ten liner services currently link the Port of Hamburg with the East and West coasts of the U.S. Along with Hapag-Lloyd, other major shipping companies like CMA CGM, HMM, ONE and Yang Ming serve the trade. Apart from six container services, one combined container/RoRo cargo and three multi-purpose services are handled. 

"The main goods shipped from the U.S to Germany via the Port of Hamburg are pharmaceutical products, data processing equipment, motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts, and other vehicles, but also chemical products and machinery," said Axel Mattern, Executive Board Member Port of Hamburg Marketing. "The goods shipped from Germany to the U.S. via Hamburg include mostly vehicles and motor vehicle parts, machinery but also pharmaceutical and chemical products as well as data processing equipment and electrical equipment." Despite congestion in many ports, the outlook for trade with the U.S. remains positive for the time being, he added.

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