The Contship Italia Group handled a total of 6,303,000 TEUs at its six Italian terminals, a 1.3% year-on-year decrease, according to annual results released by the Italian terminal and intermodal operator.

This was despite a growth of almost 19% at Eurogate Tanger to 1,438,000 TEUs and a 15% increase at La Spezia Container Terminal to 1,378,000 TEUs.

Hannibal, which provides intermodal maritime and continental services to Contship Italia, transported 301,000 TEUs in 2017, 11% more than in 2016.

However, the two-month closure of a rail line at Rastatt between Basel and Karlsruhe in August 2017 resulted in a standstill of rail freight between Italy and western Europe, leading to 181 fewer trains being operated compared to 2016.

“2017 was a challenging year for the maritime industry, especially the reorganization of liner alliances which has significantly changed the environment,” said Cecilia Eckelmann-Battistello, president of the Contship Italia Group. “More and more the focus has shifted from port performance to supply chain performance with Contship’s intermodal product Hannibal being able to record increased transport volumes compared to the year before. Contship continues to work hard to provide the market with fully integrated and competitive port-to-door services by deploying innovative solutions and strong inland connections with expected further growth in Italy and over the Alps.”