The port of Koper is almost the only freight traffic generator on the section of the Divača-Koper railway line. According to Luka Koper, d. d., for the year 2022, the total ship transshipment reached 23.2 million tons of goods and exceeded the planned quantities in 2022 by 378 thousand tons, or by 2 percent, and transshipment in 2021 by 2.4 million tons, or by 12 percent. In relation to the planned volumes, transshipment was higher in all commodity groups with the exception of general cargo and containers, and in comparison with 2021, transshipment growth was recorded in all commodity groups. At the end of 2022, a new annual historical record for container handling was achieved at the container terminal with 1,017,788 handled container units (TEU), and at the same time the historical limit of one million handled container units (TEU) in a single year was exceeded.
Transshipment in the port of Koper
In 2021, 42 percent of freight was transported by road and 58 percent by rail, in 2022, freight by road increased to 46 percent, while freight by rail decreased to 54 percent. Increasing market shares in the existing markets of hinterland countries and growing market shares in relatively new markets, especially in southern Germany, requires reliable and better hinterland connections, especially by rail.
The cargo port of Koper and the other important northern Adriatic ports – Venice, Trieste, Ravenna, Rijeka – are interesting for transoceanic cargo, especially for cargo coming from Asia via Suez. It arrives at the northern Adriatic ports about a week earlier than competing northern European ports (Rotterdam, Antwerp…).
Today, the port of Koper provides the shortest cargo travel time from Shanghai, China to Munich, Germany. Today, the port of Koper provides the shortest cargo travel time from Shanghai, China to Munich, Germany.