Signs of Finland’s economy picking up are few and far between in the Port of Helsinki’s port statistics. In January–May, both freight and passenger volumes were at the same level as in the previous year.

From January to May, the total volume of cargo transported through the Port of Helsinki was 5.8 million tonnes, which is 0.7% less than during the corresponding period in the previous year.

The volume of imported cargo was 2.5 million tonnes, while the volume of exported cargo was 3.2 million tonnes.

“During the first five months of the year, the volume of imports passing through Helsinki was 7% lower than in the previous year. There are still few new construction projects being started, and Finnish consumers have remained cautious about their small investments,” says the Port of Helsinki’s VP Cargo Services Vesa Marttinen about the reasons behind the stagnating cargo volumes.
“The export of unitized cargo was positive in the early part of the year, but in May it showed a downward trend.” 

Helsinki’s most important partner countries for cargo traffic were Estonia, Germany and the Netherlands. The exports passing through the Port of Helsinki included machinery and equipment, other general cargo as well as paper and paper products. The cargo imported to Finland, on the other hand, included consumer and investment goods and industrial products in particular.

The Port of Helsinki specialises in unitized cargo, meaning that goods travel through the port in sea containers, trucks and trailers, in particular. During the first five months of the year, a total of 5.2 million tonnes of unitized cargo were transported (+0.7%) through the port.

There was a positive trend in container traffic: in TEU*, container traffic increased by 14% from the previous year. By contrast, the number of trucks and semitrailers decreased by 7% compared to the corresponding period the previous year.

Over 3 million passengers in liner traffic**

Passenger traffic volumes also remained at the level of the previous year, although winter breaks and the Easter holidays brought with them busy weeks in terms of passenger traffic. The number of passengers recorded in Helsinki’s scheduled passenger traffic in January–May was 3.1 million, which was 1.0% less than in the corresponding period of the previous year.

As usual, the busiest passenger route was the route between Helsinki and Tallinn, which saw 2.5 million passengers (-1.8%). The number of passengers recorded on the route between Stockholm and Helsinki was 556,000 (+3.9%), while the number of passengers on the route between Travemünde and Helsinki was 54,000 (-9.6%).

By the end of May, Helsinki had recorded 19 international cruise ship visits carrying 33,000 visitors to Helsinki (+49.2%). The cruise ship season will continue until December.

Expectations moderate

The Port of Helsinki’s total passenger volume is expected to be slightly higher this year than the year before. The summer passenger season with its special cruises and new destinations is expected to be busy.

The total demand for unitised cargo is expected to remain at the current level in the second half of the year. Fintraffic will close the road tunnel leading to Vuosaari Harbour for an extended period due to repairs at the end of the year, which is expected to shift cargo traffic from Vuosaari to other harbours and ports.

The Port of Helsinki’s monthly port statistics.

Port statistics January – May 2025.

*TEU = twenty-foot equivalent unit.

**liner traffic = regular ship traffic that operates according to a schedule, e.g. RoPax ferries operating between Tallinn and Helsinki.