THE heart of the city
The Port of Helsingborg
The Port of Helsingborg is a hub for sea, road, and rail traffic. The Port plays an essential role within the Swedish business community and is a key player for businesses in Helsingborg with surrounding areas. Our work with logistical partners creates a vibrant pulse in The City and the surrounding region.
Our main goal is to support and help further develop business opportunities for our customers and the industry.
Logistic Hub
The Port plays a vital role in the business community, primarily as an employer, taxpayer, and buyer of goods and services, but also as an essential piece of the puzzle that makes up Helsingborg the best logistic location in Sweden!
The Port is located in the heart of The City, with customers and stakeholders operating within the local and global markets.
The Port has been the most crucial driver for The City’s development for centuries. The result is that The Port is now integrated into the middle of The City, with some challenges regarding land use, noise, emissions from ships, machines, and traffic to and from The Port. The Port is Sweden’s second-largest container port, contributing to Helsingborg’s status as the best logistics location in the country.
The Port is of great value for our owners, The City, and the business community. The Container Port is an integrated and vibrant segment of the import and export needs for The Region and parts of southern Sweden.
The Port’s contribution to the regional economy in 2020 was SEK 9,2 billion, with about 10,000 direct or indirect employees connected to The Port and its operations. The definition of the regional economy in this instance is the partner municipalities under the umbrella “Helsingborg Family”, which includes: Bjuv, Båstad, Helsingborg, Höganäs, Klippan, Landskrona, Perstorp, Svalöv, Åstorp, Ängelholm and Örkelljunga.
The Port of Helsingborg employs about 200 people. Still, our business involves many customers with businesses linked to our work, so on the grand scale, we are connected to the jobs of about 10,000 people in the region. This includes forwarding companies, 3PL, hauliers to mention a few. All this is possible due to their proximity to The Port.
Port of Helsingborg – Our History
From the wooden jetty to multiple terminals
A natural harbour or bay has never existed in Helsingborg; the strategic location in the strait was the deciding factor for its position. Until the 18th century, “The Port” was just a wooden jetty that spanned a couple of hundred meters out in the strait, and The City of Helsingborg only had 900 citizens.
The illustration shows the expansion of The Port from 1809 to 1891.
Historically the strategic location at the narrowest part of the strait has been of significant value for Helsingborg and its trades. Helsingborg was a sprawling trading ground starting in the 900th century and continuing for hundreds of years. German and Dutch traders bought herring from the fishermen in Råå and Helsingborg.
Many foreign buyers even had their herring salting facility in Helsingborg. Trades evolved from herring and animal hide to textiles and spices over the centuries.
During the 1980s, business was booming in Sweden and Helsingborg. The chemical, tech and graphic industries were particularly successful, but the grocery industry saw very bright times. Helsingborg was thriving, and the logistics sector took off due to the industry’s success. The south part of The Port, built in 1969, became a hub for the profitable trades linking sea and road transports together.
Weekly scheduled container routes were established to Helsingborg, and the Scania Terminal, located in the South Harbour, soon became one of the largest container terminals in the Nordic Region. The Port of Helsingborg became the leader in fresh produce import, and a quarter of all Swedish forest product exports were managed at The Port. Great relationships and networks with large hubs, both within and outside of Europe, put Helsingborg on the map as one of the most important logistic hubs in Scandinavia.
Over the years, the ferry traffic in Helsingborg has grown and evolved to include modern vehicle and rail vessels. In 1975 the ferries from Helsingborg to Elsinore, Denmark, transported 6 million passengers, close to 500K cars, 5000 busses, 34K trucks and complete trainsets with passengers. The region had an upturn, exports increased, and the Swedes travelled more than ever by car, bus, and train. The ferries over the narrowest part of the strait became famous.
The West Harbour was inaugurated in 1985 by our current King, Karl den XVl Gustav and Queen Silvia as part of the 900th anniversary of The City of Helsingborg. The West Harbour is mainly used for unit cargo, i.e. cargo loaded in containers or trailers.
Port of Helsingborg Limited
1988 is an important year in the history of The Port. That was the year when the privately owned stevedoring company, Scania Terminal Limited, and the municipally owned part, including infrastructure and administration, joined forces and established The Port of Helsingborg Limited.
The last two divisions of operating The Port have a historical explanation. Building and maintaining infrastructure, such as a port, was seen as a responsibility of the municipality as it was done in the interest of the business community. At the same time, loading and off-loading vessels were the cooperation of the shipping companies and cargo owners, and therefore they privately ran the stevedoring company.
The restructuring in 1988 was primarily done to gain strength in a market that was getting increasingly competitive.
