What Hafen Trier does

Hafen Trier (legal entity: Trierer Hafengesellschaft mbH) operates the only German inland port on the Moselle River, inaugurated in 1965 at river kilometre 184 at the confluence of the Moselle and Saar rivers. The port functions as a publicly owned trimodal logistics hub providing intermodal transloading between inland waterway, rail, and road for the Greater Trier-Luxembourg, Eifel, Hunsrück, and Saarland catchments. Core infrastructure includes a 900-metre quay, a 7.5-kilometre port railway, a 50,000 m² transloading area, a 47-ton (up to 50-ton) container gantry crane, storage facilities (44,000 m² yard, 15,000 m² shed, 32,500 m³ tank), and a 130-hectare commercial and industrial zone hosting approximately 40 companies. The company handles container, bulk, heavy, and project cargo, runs container train services to Antwerp and Rotterdam, and operates a twice-weekly container liner service (MM Multi Modal Shuttle) to Bonn and onward to Antwerp, Zeebrugge, and Rotterdam.

Revenue is generated through transaction fees on terminal and transloading services, subscription-like rental income from offices, warehouses, logistics halls, and industrial plots within the port zone, transaction-based fees for port railway operations, and recurring rental of the Port Info Center conference room. Terminal operations are executed by the long-standing partner Am Zehnhoff-Söns Multimodal Terminal Trier GmbH, which manages the gantry crane, container logistics, complete loads, storage, overseas traffic, and customs clearance. Customer acquisition is primarily through direct enterprise sales, industry presence, trade fairs (including transport logistic and BVL events), regional business networks, and public-sector marketing campaigns such as the BÖB #HafenFan initiative; pricing is negotiated individually and not publicly disclosed.

A digital test field deployed in October 2024 layers an OCR-gate system for automated train recognition, a private 5G campus network, and AI-supported traffic control software onto the existing rail operations, funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport. The port is expanding capacity through a new ~15,000 m² multi-user logistics warehouse under construction with direct multimodal-terminal connection. Ownership rests with two public-sector shareholders — the district of Trier-Saarburg and the State of Rhineland-Palatinate — and the company is led by Managing Director Volker Klassen and Port Master Stefan Jakobi.

Name

Hafen Trier

Legal name

Trierer Hafengesellschaft mbH

Website

https://hafen-trier.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Trierer Hafengesellschaft mbH (Hafen Trier) operates the only German inland port on the Moselle River, running a publicly owned trimodal logistics hub — waterway, rail, and road — serving freight forwarders, industrial tenants, and import/export companies in the Greater Trier-Luxembourg region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Inland Port and Multimodal Logistics Hub

NAICS

Port and Harbor Operations (48831), Marine Cargo Handling (48832)

SIC

Water Transportation (4400), Railroad Switching & Terminal Establishments (4013), Public Warehousing & Storage (4220), Wholesale-Petroleum Bulk Stations & Terminals (5171)

akta.pro primary industry

Inland / River Container Terminals (Barge-Served) (TLAHAAAD)

Keywords

• Inland port operations
• Multimodal logistics
• Container transloading
• Port real estate
• Rail freight services

Headquarters

HQ city

Trier

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Terminal and Transloading Services: Revenue from handling goods through the multimodal terminal, including container transloading, conventional cargo handling for bulk and general cargo, and heavy cargo operations.
2. Real Estate Rental: Rental income from offices, warehouses, logistics halls, and industrial plots within the 130-hectare commercial and industrial zone of the port.
3. Railway Infrastructure Services: Revenue from port railway operations serving container trains to Antwerp and Rotterdam.
4. Conference and Event Facilities: Rental of the 'Port Info Center' event room for workshops, meetings, and conferences.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Hafen Trier operates a trimodal inland port on the Moselle River providing container transloading between waterway, rail, and road, alongside port-side warehousing, dedicated railway shunting infrastructure, and rental of industrial and commercial real estate. The company also markets conference and event facilities on the port grounds to corporate and private organisers. Customers are primarily freight forwarders, shipping lines, logistics firms, and industrial tenants seeking integrated inland transport handling.

Product overview

Hafen Trier operates as a trimodal logistics hub (Multimodal Terminal Trier) offering intermodal transport via inland waterways, rail, and road. The core product portfolio includes the Multimodal Terminal Trier with container transloading and rail connections to Antwerp and Rotterdam, a new 15,000 m² logistics warehouse (under construction) with direct terminal connection, transloading services, and commercial real estate (offices, warehouses, plots). Supporting services include vessel registration, water level monitoring (via ELWIS), bilge oil disposal, conference facilities, and a live webcam. Recent digital infrastructure includes an OCR Gate system (2024) for automated train recognition, AI-supported traffic control software for real-time track occupancy visualization, and a 5G campus network enabling digital rail traffic management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Container Transloading Services Trimodal container handling between waterway, rail, and road for freight forwarders, shipping lines, and industrial shippers moving cargo through the Moselle corridor.
• Port-side Warehousing Storage and warehousing facilities located within the port area for logistics customers and industrial tenants requiring short- or longer-term storage adjacent to a trimodal terminal.
• Railway Shunting and Rail Infrastructure Operation of dedicated rail infrastructure and shunting services at the port, providing freight customers with rail access directly connected to terminal handling.
• Port Real Estate Leasing Rental of industrial and commercial real estate on port grounds to manufacturing, logistics, and commercial tenants.
• Conference and Event Facilities Event and conference venues on the port premises for corporate training, meetings, and private or public events.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 million tons of cargo transloaded in 2005 (first time), demonstrating significant throughput capacity

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Am Zehnhoff-Söns Multimodal Terminal Trier GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1965Terminal operator responsible for multimodal container logistics, national and international complete loads, storage, overseas traffic, and customs clearance at the Port of Trier. Manages the container gantry crane and coordinates rail and waterway transport connections.
• Theo Steil GmbH & Co. KGcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPort-based company specializing in ecologically and economically optimized scrap recycling. Creates individual waste management, logistics, and recovery concepts guaranteeing up to 100% recovery rates through high-tech sorting.
• District of Trier-Saarburg (Landkreis Trier-Saarburg)coreOthersPublic shareholder providing sound basis for successful business operations at the port location. Owns stake in Trierer Hafengesellschaft mbH.
• State of Rhineland-Palatinate (Land Rheinland-Pfalz)coreOthersPublic shareholder providing sound basis for successful business operations at the port location. Owns stake in Trierer Hafengesellschaft mbH through the Ministry of Transport.
• Europäische Kunstakademie TrierminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for the AHOI art exhibition celebrating the port's 60th anniversary. Hosted the exhibition from March to April 2022 featuring 16 national and international artists.
• KM9 TrierminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural partner collaborating on the AHOI art exhibition celebrating the port's anniversary.
• Bundesverband Öffentlicher Binnenhäfen (BÖB)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerGerman Federal Association of Public Inland Ports. Hafen Trier participates in the #HafenFan national campaign to increase visibility and public awareness of inland ports. Part of a network of approximately 90 inland ports in Germany.
• Häfen Rheinland-PfalzcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPort of Trier is part of the Rhineland-Palatinate ports association, collaborating on regional port development and marketing initiatives.
• Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV)minorOthersFunded the 'Digital Test Field for Port Railway Traffic Management' (DiVer-HT) project including OCR-gates, cameras, and 5G campus network installation.
• Investitions- und Strukturbank Rheinland-Pfalz (ISB)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerInvestment and development bank of Rhineland-Palatinate providing an online location finder for commercial properties, helping companies find suitable sites at the port.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Am Zehnhoff-Söns (Multimodal Terminal Trier): Strategic terminal operator partner at Hafen Trier's multimodal terminal since 1965, managing container logistics, complete loads, storage, overseas traffic, and customs clearance. Listed as an OTHERS peer because it is the on-site operating partner rather than a competing port; provides the closest reference point for terminal-operator economics within the Hafen Trier footprint.

Direct peers

• Hafen Koblenz: Rhineland-Palatinate public inland port at the Moselle-Rhine confluence operating trimodal transloading, railway infrastructure, and industrial real estate. Highly comparable as a same-state public inland port with similar trimodal operations, serving as the closest direct geographic and operational peer to Hafen Trier.
• Mindener Hafen: Public inland port on the Weser in North Rhine-Westphalia handling container, bulk, and project cargo with on-site logistics real estate. Comparable as a mid-sized German public inland port operator with transloading, real estate rental, and industrial tenant base.

Broad incumbents

• Häfen Rheinland-Pfalz (Port of Mainz / Ludwigshafen): Collective of Rhineland-Palatinate public inland ports including Mainz and Ludwigshafen. Already a named alliance partner of Hafen Trier; comparable as public inland ports sharing same regional association, scale, and inland waterway operating model.
• Hafen Mannheim: Major trimodal inland port on the Rhine/Neckar confluence operating container, bulk, and liquid cargo terminals plus large logistics real estate footprint. Closely comparable profile as a German public inland port with multimodal infrastructure and industrial tenant zones.
• Häfen Duisburg (duisport): World's largest inland port on the Rhine/Duisburg-Ruhrorter Häfen, combining trimodal handling, container terminals, and large logistics parks. Directly comparable as a German public inland port operator, but at a vastly larger scale and broader geographic reach than Hafen Trier.
• Container Terminal Deurgangckdok / Port of Antwerp-Bruges: Major deep-sea and inland container terminal network serving as the international seaport endpoint of Hafen Trier's rail connections. Functionally a downstream customer and feeder hub; relevant as a large incumbent port with which Hafen Trier integrates intermodally.
• Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln (HGK): Cologne's municipal port and logistics group operating trimodal inland terminals, rail freight, and logistics real estate along the Rhine. Comparable business model (public port with rail and real estate), operates a similar German inland port profile with deeper Rhine exposure.

Regional players

• Deutzer Hafen / Köln-Deutz: Cologne's Deutz inland port facility on the Rhine offering transloading and trimodal logistics services. Peer as a German public Rhine inland port with a similar service mix but a different regional catchment than Hafen Trier's Moselle-Saar territory.
• Port of Strasbourg (Ports de Strasbourg): French inland Rhine port operating multimodal terminals, container handling, and ~700 ha of port-area real estate. Comparable as a European public trimodal inland port across the border from Hafen Trier's catchment, sharing Rhine access and intermodal logistics services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/hafentrier
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hafen-trier

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hafen Trier