Container transport carried out by HHLA in the first three quarters of 2026 increased 0.5% compared to the same period last year, reaching 1.509 million TEUs. Total throughput, however, dropped by 7.3%, falling to 4.446 million TEUs.
All of HHLA’s growth was caused by rail transport, while road haulage remained stable at 201,000 TEUs. When it comes to rail, “the increase in volume was mainly driven by traffic with the North German seaports and transport to and from Poland. Traffic to and from the Adriatic seaports and within Germany continued to decline, however”, HHLA said.
The drop in total throughput was, on the other hand, caused by multiple factors. HHLA’s terminals in Hamburg, which handle the vast majority of the company’s volumes, declined by 7.7% to 4.2 million TEUs. The company identified “ongoing modernisation measures at the Hamburg terminals and by adjustments to international transport and goods flows in response to geopolitical tensions” as the main reasons.
Concerning the three international terminals managed by HHLA (in Estonia, Italy and Ukraine), container throughput fell 1.6% to 246,000 TEUs. “This was due in particular to the adverse economic situation in Estonia, as well as to re-routings in the Mediterranean caused by geopolitical tensions” the company added. For the terminal in Odessa, the constant tension brought the facility almost to a standstill in Q3.
A downhill year
HHLA’s results for the first nine months of 2026 echo the trends recorded with its previous reports for Q1 (-5.3%) and H1 (-6.7%). If anything, things seem to be getting worse, as the decline got steeper with the passing of time. These issues have also forced the company to review its expectations for the whole of 2026, which were lowered twice in the past three months.
Financial hardships
In addition to lower volumes, HHLA is also currently going through some tough times financially. If, on one hand, revenue went slightly up (3.3% reaching €1.375 billion), its operating results continued to fall drastically. From the €117.1 million from the first three quarters of 2025, the same period this year only generated €81.2 million, a drop of over 30%. “In addition to operational challenges, non-cash impairment charges related to the strategic focus on the core business also weighed on the result”, the company explained.