North Sea Port handled 9.6% fewer goods in the first quarter of 2026 than a year earlier. In total, this involved 15 million tons via sea shipping. January and February in particular were weak months, although throughput recovered to normal levels in March.
According to the port, the decline is mainly due to the persistently weak market conditions in Europe, especially in the chemical and manufacturing industries. In addition, stock build-up at the end of 2025 and maintenance shutdowns at major industrial players also played a role. The recent war in the Persian Gulf region has not yet had an impact on the first quarter figures, although the port does expect effects on supply chains in the short term.
It is striking that some segments did experience growth. For example, transhipment of general cargo (+2.6%) and RoRo (+1.3%) increased. The number of containers also increased by 5% to 47,000 TEU, although the volume in tonnes decreased by 5.1%.
The decline is mainly in bulk goods. Solid bulk declined by 11.1%, partly due to less supply of iron ore after a peak at the end of 2025. Liquid bulk even experienced a decline of 17.2%, mainly due to the weak chemical sector and maintenance periods.
CEO Cas König emphasizes that the combination of declines in both solid and liquid bulk is exceptional: “Normally, increases in other segments compensate for such fluctuations, but that was not the case in January and February. However, the recovery in March makes us positive.”
Inland shipping also experienced a slight decline. At 14.9 million tons, the volume was 2.4% lower than last year. As with maritime shipping, March brought about a clear recovery to normal levels.
