Antwerp, Rotterdam, Hamburg: These are the major ports in Northwestern Europe. Throughput developments here directly impact the rail freight business, and so we’re taking a look at what the 2025 data tell us.
The trend away from bulk continued in 2025. Data from all three ports show a similar trend, with a striking 19% decline in liquid bulk in Antwerp. Despite the absence of data from Hamburg, break bulk seems to have remained relatively stable. The real growth, however, comes from one segment only: containers. And the Germans clearly take the cake.
The Hamburg port achieved a 7.3% growth in the container segment in 2025 – much more than Rotterdam (+3.1%) and Antwerp (+0.7%).
TEU versus tonnes
Container growth in Hamburg distinguishes itself even more from Rotterdam when taking volumes into consideration. Yes, there was growth in Rotterdam in terms of TEU, but the tonnage metric fell by 0.2%. “More import containers, lower export volumes due to the weakened European competitiveness, and the decline in transhipment led to increased transhipment of empty containers”, says the Rotterdam port.
By contrast, Hamburg achieved growth in tonnages too – by no less than 4.6%. While the port did not disclose its container tonnage figure for 2025, it likely sits at around 81 million tonnes. Antwerp and Rotterdam still lead the way in Europe with 149.5 and 133.2 million tonnes respectively.
Where does Hamburg’s growth come from? It was Asian exporters in particular that reached Hamburg more and more often. At the same time, policymakers in the White House severely damaged the transatlantic business with their tariffs.