Harsh winter weather, weak industrial demand and geopolitical disruption weighed on cargo volumes at several major North Sea gateways in the first quarter of 2026. Hamburg, Antwerp-Bruges and terminal operator HHLA reported lower container traffic, while Rotterdam’s overall throughput remained broadly stable and its container volumes edged up in TEU terms.
March brought a recovery in several locations, but the results point to an uneven market: stronger flows from parts of Asia and higher liquid-bulk volumes sat alongside weaker European exports, reduced steel traffic and disrupted vessel schedules.
Antwerp-Bruges faced a similar sequence, compounded by severe storms in the Bay of Biscay until mid-February and a four-day strike over pension reform. The port estimates that these disruptions cost around 100,000 TEU, as vessels were diverted and some scheduled calls could not be handled fully. Volumes recovered from mid-February and particularly in March.
Hamburg’s container traffic illustrates the changing geography of demand. Volumes with Malaysia rose 54.5%, India increased 14.8% and Singapore was up 5.2%. Traffic with China, however, fell 3.0%, while US volumes dropped 24.5%. Conventional general cargo declined 9.7%, largely because of lower steel-product exports.
HHLA also reported weaker North American and Far Eastern traffic, particularly China, at its Hamburg terminals. Feeder volumes from Scandinavia, Lithuania and the UK declined, though German and Polish cargo increased. HHLA’s international terminals provided an offset: throughput there rose 21.5% to 88,000 TEU, supported by HHLA PLT Italy and Container Terminal Odessa.
Container throughput increased 0.3% in TEU, but container tonnage fell 3.2% as empty-container exports to Asia rose 14%. The port also said an update to a major terminal’s operating system held volumes below expectations. Inland-container volumes rose 11%, driven by larger calls and expanded services from Asia and North America.
Antwerp-Bruges also expects the conflict’s main initial effect to be indirect: higher energy, bunker and transport costs, alongside further pressure on European industrial competitiveness.
