The economic barometer showed the strongest growth in the shipping industry, rising by 67 points to 75.8 points. "Overall, the shipping industry has come through the crisis better than expected in the spring," said Janina Marahrens-Hashagen, Chairwoman of IHK Nord. However, the picture is quite varied: While large liner shipping companies are making profits again, the cruise industry is still largely on the ground. "The general warning against cruises on the website of the Federal Foreign Office is tantamount to a de facto industry lockdown. This warning should be reassessed at the cruise summit with politicians and companies," said the IHK Nord chairwoman.

The business climate index for shipyards did not rise quite as sharply as in the shipping industry, from 38.9 to 59.2 points. Four out of five of the companies surveyed see major problems with regard to foreign demand. "Cruise ship construction in particular is suffering from the crisis," said Marahrens-Hashagen. In order to maintain the shipyards and secure thousands of jobs at the suppliers, the federal government should apply the so-called large guarantee programme (parallel federal and state guarantees) to shipbuilding without restriction and also use the economic stabilization fund specifically to support individual companies.

The sentiment barometer also rose in the port industry. It rose by around 36 points and currently stands at 59.9 points. "Despite this positive news, the major German seaports in particular have fallen further behind their competitors from Rotterdam and Antwerp since the start of the pandemic," said Marahrens-Hashagen. "On a positive note, the regional ports and the seaports on the Baltic Sea have been less affected by the consequences of the pandemic and have been able to almost consistently achieve their previous year's result in freight transport." From the point of view of the North German Chambers of Industry and Commerce, the start-up costs of ships to the German seaports should be permanently reduced. The coronavirus pandemic has also made it very clear that digital solutions are also needed in the maritime industry. Digitalization should therefore be driven forward even faster than before, for example in the ports.