Saxon inland ports draw a positive balance for 2025

Despite restrictions following the collapse of the Carola Bridge and railroad construction work in Bad Schandau, the Sächsische Binnenhäfen Oberelbe (SBO) have drawn a positive balance for 2025. Freight throughput at the ports of Dresden, Riesa and Torgau increased by 4.27 percent, according to the SBO. A total of 2.14 million tons were handled.

In the current difficult economic situation in Saxony and beyond, it is important to survive as a company, said SBO Managing Director Heiko Loroff at the presentation of the balance sheet. "Thanks to our breadth and positioning, we have been able to master these times very well."

However, the Czech subsidiary CSP, with its two ports in Decin and Lovosice, was affected by the multiple long-term track closures in Bad Schandau and the clearing of the collapsed Carola Bridge, which lasted until August. Freight handling there fell by nine per cent to around 390,000 tons.

Rail transport further expanded

Rail freight transport once again increased in importance for the port association last year. 1.23 million tons of goods, including timber products, scrap and grain, were handled by train (up 1.9 percent). Growth was particularly strong in Torgau, where rail transport doubled.

With a view to further expansion, however, Loroff pointed out structural problems: "You can only be competitive with road transport if you can at least deliver on a par with road transport on a day-to-day basis." However, hardly any freight trains are currently on time and journey times such as 16 hours for the Dresden to Duisburg route are not competitive.

Mixed outlook

The prospects for 2026 are mixed, said Loroff. The focus is on keeping the company stable and securing the jobs of its employees. According to him, eight jobs were cut in 2025. "We were able to solve this through normal fluctuation," emphasized Loroff. There were no redundancies for operational reasons. According to the information provided, SBO currently has 113 employees and CSP 26.

Expansion in Riesa going according to plan

Lorofff sees the main focus on the expansion of the port in Riesa. Everything is going according to plan there: planning law and building permits have been obtained and the first preparatory measures for the construction of the new terminal have already been implemented, as the Managing Director explained.

The SBO is currently waiting for a funding decision from the federal government. Once this has been received, a decision will be made on the start of construction. Commissioning is planned for 2028. The originally envisaged investment sum of 30 million euros is likely to increase. Lorofff assumes that 78 percent of the costs will be funded.