German seaports demand support from the government.
The German Seaport Association (ZDS) has called on the German government to adopt a more ambitious port policy and increase funding. At the annual press conference in Hamburg at the end of November, ZDS President Angela Titzrath said that the economic and geopolitical challenges of recent years were putting the industry under severe pressure. In the first half of 2024, German ports handled 136.29 million tonnes of cargo, only slightly more than in the same period last year. Container throughput increased by 3.3%, but Titzrath noted that these figures should be seen in the context of the disastrous 2023, the worst in two decades.
