April 10, 2020 [Port News] – In the market region of the Representative Office Dortmund of Port of Hamburg Marketing the effects of the corona crisis are being experienced differently in the individual regions, Port of Hamburg said in its release.

 
The operators of the CT terminal in Warstein describe a decline in exports. Therefore, the train service to Hamburg has been adapted to only one departure per week. Nevertheless, the forecast shows a slight upward trend.

The container terminal Dortmund is even more positive and reports increasing bookings in import and export. Large regional producers have announced yet again increased goods from calendar week 16 onwards. The fact that shipping companies are positioning empty equipment to Dortmund is also a solid indicator. Thus, the first effects of the restarting industry in China are arriving in the Ruhr region. The train connection between Dortmund and Hamburg has been reduced to five departures, which are fully booked.

The CTS in Cologne sees clear positive signals regarding imports. Exports, on the contrary, are completely unclear, as in many places. The local companies hardly want to commit themselves. If import containers cannot be accepted by closed companies, Cologne has necessary storage facilities that can be used as a buffer. The Hamburg-Cologne train is running only with two rotations this week. After that, according to the plan, it is to be increased to three departures again.

In contrast, the terminal in Minden recorded strong declines in bookings. Large shippers have already stopped production and import effects are not foreseeable yet. Nevertheless, the terminal is receiving increasing requests for buffer storage options. A capacity of up to 300 full containers would be no problem there. The location is well equipped for increasing volumes.

The port of Hannover is also confronted with a rapidly declining industry. But import managers of the manufacturing companies are already attracting to first larger quantities that have been announced. Apart from that, imports in hinterland traffic continue to perform well. Although the liner service in inland waterway transport had to be reduced from four to 2.5 departures, it is very flexible in order to react well to any irregularities. Trucking is also still very stable in the last mile.

The terminal operator at Bönen has increasing requests for temporary storage. The regional shippers report that they will remain capable of acting within their own storage capacities until the deadline of 20th April. The range of CT services with northbound traffic has not been reduced so far.

To sum up, it can be said that there is a discreetly positive mood at the western terminal locations, with a pale light at the end of the tunnel. This relates mainly to the import route. The hinterland transport systems are running at a reduced level, but very stable. Equipment availability is given, just like the possibility of temporary storage in buffer storage facilities. All operators clearly emphasize that they are well prepared for future upwards volume developments.
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