German port operator HHLA sees cargo traffic ramping up ahead of US election

FILE PHOTO: Containers are unloaded from the Hapag-Lloyd container ship Chacabuco at the HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder on the River Elbe in Hamburg, Germany·Reuters
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BERLIN (Reuters) - Freight trade is ramping up considerably in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election amid fears over rising protectionism in the world's biggest economy, the head of German logistics company HHLA said in a media interview published on Wednesday.

"The risk that a new U.S. administration will also tighten its economic protectionism with further tariff restrictions has triggered a major pull effect," Angela Titzrath, CEO of HHLA, which is the main operator of Hamburg port, told the business magazine Capital.

"It's incredible how trade with the U.S. has picked up this year," Titzrath said. "Stocks are being ordered before the election results and fed into the global flow of goods."

Titzrath said this reinforces a positive trend for HHLA, which is bringing Swiss-based MSC - the world's biggest container shipping group - on board as an investor.

HHLA's revenue rose 4.6% in the first half of the year and earnings increased by almost 16%, Titzrath told Capital.

The United States goes to the polls on Nov. 5 to elect a new president, with Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump vying to succeed Joe Biden.

(Writing by Rachel More; Editing by Eileen Soreng)