These are numbers that no one in Hamburg is happy about, but a slight feeling of confirmation may be circulating in the town hall these days. Mayor Peter Tschentscher had to face a lot of criticism when he presented plans a good four months ago for the world’s largest shipping company MSC to acquire a massive stake in its own port logistics company HHLA. Now the numbers prove him right about at least one thing: something has to be done at the port. The business of Hamburger Hafen- und Logistik AG collapsed in 2023, and the operating result (EBIT) fell by 54 percent to 93 million euros. That even fell short of expectations of 100 to 120 million euros.
The situation seems even more drastic when you compare the individual areas in which HHLA earns its money. Their core business is actually the transport of containers, but last year this only amounted to a surplus of nine million euros – that is less than the real estate business in Hafencity brought in eleven million euros. The overall situation is alarming for Hamburg, but that hardly changes the resistance of many port workers against the entry of the Mediterranean Shipping Company: The Verdi union has called for a demonstration again this Wednesday. It’s about the fear of dwindling participation, the fear of jobs. And also about a feeling: You don’t just give away your heart, the harbor.
During the pandemic, high container storage fees led to big profits
HHLA has various reasons for the latest developments. “In 2023, the war in Ukraine, geopolitical tensions, high inflation and increased interest rates put a strain on the global economy and increasingly clouded economic development over the course of the year,” said CEO Angela Titzrath. Everything together affects the industry and businesses. In fact, a significant decline in profits in the container division was expected after supply chain problems caused many containers to pile up at the ports during the pandemic and storage fees were increased accordingly. The situation last year was completely different again.
“Despite these challenging conditions, we managed to hold our own last year,” said Titzrath. In fact, the situation at competing European ports appears to be similar when it comes to the decline in cargo volume. Container throughput fell by 6.3 percent in Hamburg and by 7.2 percent in Antwerp; Rotterdam is still publishing its preliminary figures. On the other hand, competitors can also cope with declines more easily, as they have long been ahead of Hamburg in terms of the total number of containers transported.
This is exactly why Hamburg politicians concluded a deal with the shipping company MSC last year: Hamburg previously held around 69 percent of the shares in HHLA, 49.9 percent will now go to MSC in a complex process. The Senate has already voted for it, and it will be the turn of the Hamburg parliamentarians in the coming months. A decision should not be made until May at the earliest. The town hall hopes that the partial sale will mean that business at the harbor will go better again. MSC is expected to bring more cargo to Hamburg every year, and from 2031 there will be one million more containers per year. The construction of the German headquarters in the Hanseatic city is also planned.
Workers fear for their jobs
However, critics have considerable doubts about the promised amount of cargo. MSC has so far had its containers handled by HHLA’s competitor Eurogate, and there may now be a threat of withdrawal there, which would hardly help the city in the overall situation, much less the workers. In addition, works councils and unions fear that the influence of employees in the company will decrease, working conditions will worsen and jobs could be cut. The fact that MSC, as a family business, is considered a particularly closed company fuels additional fears. Recently there was a wildcat strike at a terminal, which was followed by warnings.
These are uncertain times that HHLA is currently navigating. This leaves its mark, as Germany’s largest shipping company Hapag-Lloyd recently announced an alliance with the Danish shipping company Moller Maersk from 2025. As a result, ten percent less cargo will come to Hamburg in the future, Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven will benefit instead. That’s what you have to say: There were better prospects for the port of Hamburg.