BLG, the Bremen/Bremerhaven port company, said container traffic will close the year around 20 percent below the 2008 figure, and auto shipments will slump by 40 percent.
Box shipments will fall to 4.4 million 20-foot equivalent units from 5.5 million TEUs in 2008, according to Detthold Aden, chief executive of BLG.
The auto terminal at Bremerhaven has been hit even harder with traffic set to plunge to around 1.1 million units by the end of the year from a record 2.03 million units in 2008, Aden said.
Overall cargo traffic at the twin German ports shrunk 16.8 percent to 62 million metric tons from 74.5 million metric tons last year.
Aden said pre-tax earnings are expected to fall to between $15 million and $22.5 million in 2009 from $126 million in 2008.
"As the turnover of goods shipped by sea plays a major role in our corporate group, the [economic] crisis is naturally having a big impact on the company results. The successful business fields, such as trade logistics are nowhere near enough to compensate," Aden said.
BLG is aiming for profits of $45 million to $60 million in 2010, Aden said.
Box shipments will fall to 4.4 million 20-foot equivalent units from 5.5 million TEUs in 2008, according to Detthold Aden, chief executive of BLG.
The auto terminal at Bremerhaven has been hit even harder with traffic set to plunge to around 1.1 million units by the end of the year from a record 2.03 million units in 2008, Aden said.
Overall cargo traffic at the twin German ports shrunk 16.8 percent to 62 million metric tons from 74.5 million metric tons last year.
Aden said pre-tax earnings are expected to fall to between $15 million and $22.5 million in 2009 from $126 million in 2008.
"As the turnover of goods shipped by sea plays a major role in our corporate group, the [economic] crisis is naturally having a big impact on the company results. The successful business fields, such as trade logistics are nowhere near enough to compensate," Aden said.
BLG is aiming for profits of $45 million to $60 million in 2010, Aden said.