The Port of Gothenburg may have a new claim to fame. It is currently beats all key European seaports, having reached a rail modal share in containers of over 60%. The port revealed that number in its H1 2025 report, during which period it handled 470,000 TEU.
The Gothenburg port remains relatively small compared to other European ports. For example, Gdańsk handled 2,25 million TEU during the entirety of 2024, Rotterdam sat at 13,82 million and Hamburg at 7,76 million TEU – much more than Gothenburg.
Yet, its rail share is nothing to be ashamed of. The only other port that comes close is Hamburg, with a 50,2% container rail share throughout 2024. Gdańsk managed a still relatively high 35%. Rotterdam got stuck at 8.9%.
Gothenburg’s more than 60% rail share constitutes an improvement of 4% over the first half of the year prior. “Growth is being driven by inland terminals across Sweden – in the north, south, as well as the east. In the wider Stockholm region alone, rail container volumes rose by 4% to more than 30,000 TEU in the first half of the year”, the port writes.
“The region hosts numerous central warehouses, particularly for consumer goods, and the rail link to the Port of Gothenburg is vital. Rail is efficient, nearly emission-free, and helps ease road congestion”, commented Claes Sundmark, Vice President Sales and Marketing at the port.
Beyond rail freight
The Port of Gothenburg noted varied performance across its freight segments in H1 2025. Container handling increased to 470,000 TEU, driven by a higher proportion of loaded units and fewer empty repositionings. “Repositioning empty containers between ports is necessary for the logistics system to function, but ideally it should be kept to a minimum. The fact that we are handling more loaded containers while managing fewer empties reflects greater efficiency across the entire logistics chain”, Sundmark added.
July was the busiest month on record for container terminal operator APM Terminals. In part, that can be attributed to newly launched services to the Baltic region and Asia. Ro-Ro traffic saw a 1% increase to 272,000 units. At the same time, however, car handling declined by 7% to 124,000 vehicles, and energy flows decreased by 13% to 9,4 million tonnes. Dry bulk experienced a collapse of 43% to 155,000 tonnes.