BERLIN, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The volume of goods handled in German seaports declined by 6.4 percent year-on-year to a total of 275.7 million tons, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Tuesday.
With a decrease of 1.4 percent, dispatches to other countries "declined less significantly" year-on-year than the volume of inbound goods, which dropped by 9.2 percent. "The impact of the coronavirus pandemic severely affected maritime traffic during 2020," Destatis said.
In the first quarter of 2020, which was mostly unaffected by COVID-19 restrictions, Germany's cargo throughput only declined "moderately" year-on-year, according to Destatis. However, double-digit declines were recorded from April to July, with the highest losses of 16.8 percent recorded in May.
Although Germany entered a second COVID-19 lockdown at the beginning of November, the volume of goods handled by maritime shipping turned into a "plus for the first time" in November last year, Destatis noted. For the fourth quarter, German seaports even recorded a 2.8 percent increase in cargo throughput year-on-year.
Cargo throughput in Germany's busiest seaport Hamburg declined the most, by 6.8 percent, and reached 109.2 million tons. However, Hamburg still handled more than twice as much cargo as the second biggest port of Bremerhaven, according to Destatis.
"The first six months were notable for reduced activity in many areas of the economy, weaker consumer demand, and a reduction in liner service sailings," said Axel Mattern, CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing, in a statement when announcing annual figures at the end of February. Enditem
