Dry bulk handling increased by 2.1% compared to the same period last year.
The increase is mainly driven by higher throughput volumes of iron ore and scrap. This segment increased by 12.6% to 14.6 million tonnes due to higher steel and iron production in Germany in the first half of the year. Throughput of coal decreased by 2.4 million tonnes (-19.7%) due to low demand for thermal coal for power generation. Solar and wind are increasingly used as renewable sources for power generation. Throughput of coking coal also fell, despite the increase in steel production in Germany. Due to sufficient stock accumulation last year, supply decreased in the first half of the year.
Throughput of agribulk decreased by 1.2 million tonnes due to low demand for soybeans as a result of certain processes moving to the United States. Other dry bulk (raw materials for various industrial applications and the construction sector) shows an increase. The throughput figures for agribulk (-19.3%) and other dry bulk (80.7%) show large deviations compared to 2023. Due to a correction in 2023 to an erroneous declaration in the seaport dues system in 2022, these figures show a distorted picture. Without the correction, agribulk shows a decrease of 5.1% and other dry bulk shows an increase of 20.7%.