CENTRO INTERNAZIONALE STUDI CONTAINERS ANNO XXXVIII - Numero FEBBRAIO 2020 PORTS AND TERMINALS Mixed performance of the ports of Europe in 2019 Europe's main ports have published their results for 2019, showing that total container throughput in the 15 most important ports in Europe saw an increase of 2.8% compared to 2018. However, growth rates were considerably lower than in 2018 (4.7%) and 2017 (4.6%). The positions of the three main European container ports Rotterdam, (14.81 million teu) Antwerp (11.86 million teu) and Hamburg (9.26 million teu) remain firm. While Rotterdam volumes declined by 2.1%, Antwerp grew by a notable 6.8%. Hamburg, which had lost traffic in recent years, boosted its container traffic by 6.1% in 2019. These three ports handled more than 35.9 million teu in 2019 (+ 4.6%), an equivalent to 45.4% of the combined volumes of the first 15 ports. The Greek port of Piraeus, a Chinese gateway, again registered a double-digit growth (+15.1%) in 2019, which brings it close to the results of the Spanish ports of Valencia (5.44 million teu or +5.0%) and Algeciras (5.12 million teu or + 7.3%) - despite the equally remarkable improvement in these two Spanish ports. (mw) www.transportjournal.com