In the first half of 2011 the cargo handling of merchant shipping[ds_preview] in the German sea ports increased by 6.4 % compared with the same period in 2010. According to the Federal Statistical Office, 144.1 million tons of cargo had been handled, however, this is still 11 % less than the value before the financial crisis from January to June 2008 (162.4 million tons). The containerized cargo handling increased substantially and reached 7.5 million TEU, 20 % more than in the first half of 2010.
