Container handling, which makes up around 50 percent of the total handling volume, is the most important goods segment of the duisport Group. Total handling volumes for 2016 amounted to 66.8 million tonnes, which was slightly below the previous year’s value (68.5 million tonnes). “This result was mainly due to a 1.2 million tonne special transaction in the rail segment in the 2015 business year,” explains Staake. Ship handling volumes grew by an impressive four percent.
Staake expects total handling volumes to grow slightly during the 2017 business year. “New tenants in the port, new rail connections and continued positive growth in the China train segment will create positive impulses particularly with regard to container handling.” At the same time, there are a also a number of economic imponderables due to the trend towards re-nationalization and the threat of protectionism. Staake: “Our flows of goods are of course affected by global economic factors, which are outside of our control.”