HAMBURG WORLD'S BIGGEST PORT.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 277, 20 November 1913, Page 8

HAMBURG WORLD'S BIGGEST PORT.

GERMAN' CENTRE AHEAD OF LONDON. Statistics issued the first week in October by the Hamburg Senate allow business for the Port of Hamburg for the year 1012 indicating that Hamburg is now probably the greatest shipping centre in the world. The figures show a great excess over the value of the shipping of the Port of even though iii compiling the statistics for London Queensborough and Leigh, at the mouth of Uk , Thames, be included. Roughly, during the year 1912 Hamburg cleared imports and exports of 25,000.000 tons, valued at £400.000,000. This tremendous volume of business is due in great measure to the fact that Hamburg is a free port, where goods can be held awaiting reshipmeni, without paying customs duties. Improvements made in the shipping facilities of Hamburg in recent years ■ ■am- to more than two thousand acres the extent of free port territory. There an- thirteen miles of quays fitted with loading and unloading appliances for seagoing vessels, -while there are eleven miles of open water mooring places and eight miles of shed warehouses. For th-e year 1012 the tonnage figures arc: Imports, 1(5.600.000: exports, 8,100,----000. showing an increase of more than a million tons in both imports and exports over 1011. The value in marks is: Imports. 4.007.400.000: exports. 3,631,200,----000. an increase over the previous year of imports 400,000,000 marks and exports 300.000.000 marks. The figures show that America and England are Hamburg's best customers, America leading on the import side with jrooils valued at 605.000,000 marks, against ■root!? valued at 005.000,000 marks from England. In exports, however. England leads, with goods valued at 522,000,000 marks, compared with goods valued at s :n to America. The figures for London arc unavailable later than March 31, 1912, which is the end of the fiscal year of the Port of London authority, and the figures for the period ended March 31 last arc not yet available. The latest figures for London snow, by comparison with Hamburg, that London, including Queens-borough and Leigh, has a. trade of 29,395.636 tons, but valued at 600.000.000 marks less than Hamburg total tonage. The year's imports figure in marks at 4,756,850,000, and the total imports and exports at 7,672,520,000. This is an excess over the previous year of nearly £20,000.000. or 400,000,000 marks. ' i