Port of Aalborg increases cargo turnover in 2020

Port of Aalborg, the country’s largest inland port, has recently calculated the cargo turnover for the last calendar year, which shows that the total turnover of cargo across the quay hit 3.045 million tons. Consequently, despite a difficult year marked by the corona pandemic, Port of Aalborg realised an increase of almost one percent and according to CEO Claus Holstein, there is good reason to be satisfied with that result:

– 2020 was a very difficult year for the world economy and it is therefore positive in itself that we have come out of the year with an overall increase. This suggests that we have successfully strengthened Aalborg’s position in the cargo flow market in and out of Denmark, says Claus Holstein and continues:

– Moreover, we note that cargo turnover on our docks at the East Port has been progressing well and we see this as partially indicative of the positive development of our business park in recent years. This has helped to support the business activities of existing companies and the arrival of many new ones.

Had it not been for an extraordinary decline in coal imports as a result of Nordjylland Power Station’s prolonged stoppages in 2019, Port of Aalborg could by all accounts have realized a much larger overall increase in turnover of cargo across the quay, according Claus Holstein.

– It says something about our development in freight transport at the East Port that despite the decrease at Nordjylland Power Station, we have still raised our overall cargo turnover. This bodes well for the future, as coal imports are set to continuously decrease in step with Nordjylland Power Station’s phasing out of coal, explains Michael Rosenkilde Lind, Commercial Manager Bulk.

Significant growth of rail freight
One area which has gained greater significance for Port of Aalborg these years, is the activity at the East Port rail terminals. Here, 2020 provided a gain in the number of calls of 52%, while the number of freight carriages rose by 54%.

– We see ourselves as an intermodal inland port and business park, which means that it is not enough to offer transport across the quay. We must ensure that companies in our business park have optimal conditions for success both by sea and land, and this is where rail transport is becoming increasingly competitive, says Rasmus Munk Kolind, Commercial Manager Rail, and continues:

– Therefore, in recent years, we have invested heavily in our rail setup – most recently with a new railway terminal in 2020 – and we have not yet finished on that front. In addition, we managed several times throughout 2020 to increase the number of weekly calls and just before Christmas we realised one of our key objectives of calls every weekday.

This suggests that 2021 will continue along the busy track of 2020. The positive development of both railroad and new buildings is expected to continue in the coming years. Moreover, Port of Aalborg, in addition to the ongoing expansion of infrastructure, is also planning further investments in conditions and facilities aimed at attracting even more new companies to the East Port.

For further information, please contact:

• Michael Rosenkilde Lind, Commercial Manager Bulk, Port of Aalborg A/S, tel. +45 29 20 72 11 and mrl@portofaalborg.com
• Rasmus Munk Kolind, Commercial Manager Rail, Port of Aalborg A/S, tel. +45 29 20 72 06 and rmk@portofaalborg.com
• Press service: Maja Thordahl Schou, Head of Branding & PR, Port of Aalborg A/S, tel. +45 22 61 83 08 and mts@portofaalborg.com