Throughput at the Eurogate Group’s three German terminals rose 1.5% in 2015 compared to 2014, according to figures released by the company.

Eurogate’s Bremerhaven terminal handled 5.5 million TEUs in 2015, 4.3% fewer than in 2014 because of lower feeder volumes from Russia. On the other hand, the Wilhelmshaven terminal handled 426,751 TEUs, which was six times more than in 2014, while the Hamburg terminal grew just 0.5% to 2.3 million TEUs because of the slowing Chinese economy.

According to Emanuel Schiffer, chairman of the Eurogate Group management board, the company’s North Sea terminals handled more than 200 vessels larger than the 18,000 TEU size.

“Our container terminals are predestined to handle the new mega-carriers, something our customers have in the meantime recognized as well,” said Schiffer. “This has enabled us to stand our ground against the market trend.”

He added that market conditions remain challenging because of overcapacity and weak global demand, triggered by the slump in Chinese exports.

“For 2016, we are again anticipating a difficult year,” said Schaffer. “Against this background, we are focusing all our efforts on providing our customers with the service they expect.”

The Eurogate Group, which also operates terminals in Italy, Morocco, Portugal and Russia, will hold its annual press conference in Bremen on April 5, 2016.