Page 18 - Hafen Hamburg | Port of Hamburg Magazine 4.2021

■ WORLD TRADE
TREND INDEX – HAMBURG SERVICES WITH THE USA – 1,000 TEU
600
550
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50 0
Source: HHM
2015 2016 2017
2018 2019 2020
No Sign of Crisis
Even during the pandemic, the positive trend in container traffic between Hamburg and the USA continues. Since 2019, the USA has been Hamburg’s second strongest trading partner for seaborne trade after China.
US economic activity directly reflects private con- sumption. Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI) speaks of an interplay between consumption and economic growth: Higher consumption makes for faster eco- nomic growth, and vice versa. After lockdowns and other restrictions affected purchasing power in 2020, this year consumer spending is booming.
That’s due primarily to a number of pump-priming US government programmes to boost the economy. This also shapes the USA’s foreign trade. Hamburg is a central hub for German trade with America. A to- tal of 591,000 TEU were shifted in crisis year 2020. For the first half of 2020, the figure reached 303,000 TEU, representing 5.3 percent growth and feeding
18 | Port of Hamburg Magazine | December 2021
© Hapag Lloyd