By Paul Carrel
BREMEN, Germany, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Car exports at the German port of Bremerhaven nose-dived at the start of this year, the port's biggest goods handler said on Wednesday, adding that it expected a stabilisation from mid-year.
Bremerhaven is Germany's biggest port for importing and exporting cars and so its business volumes offer a good insight into the health of the export and auto sectors in Europe's largest economy.
Manfred Kuhr, deputy management board chairman of BLG Logistics Group, which transports goods to and from the port and stores them, said the volume of cars his company handled at the port fell by some 50 percent on the year in January.
Volumes could fall by 25 percent or more in the first quarter, he added.
However, he said demand for consumer goods had held up, remaining close to 2008 levels.
"In the port we are of course used to fluctuations (in business), but I can't remember us having a downturn like this," he told Reuters from his office in nearby Bremen.
"I've been in the business for 35 years -- we haven't had anything like this before."
BLG Logistics handles 80 percent of the goods at Bremerhaven, where most of its business is in importing and exporting cars and car parts -- a key sector in the German economy, which is suffering from a collapse foreign demand.
Most of BLG's car trade at the port is with North America.
The company said last month it expected a 25-percent drop in handling volumes at Bremerhaven in the first quarter of 2009.
"It could be more," said Kuhr. "We don't know at the moment, neither does the auto industry."
Close to one in five workers in Germany is directly or indirectly employed in the auto sector. Cars and car parts made up a fifth of German exports in 2007, official data show.
Economy Minister Michael Glos said on Tuesday he was considering stepping up help for exporters. [ID:nL3710837]
For January alone, BLG's handling volumes at Bremerhaven fell by 50 percent on the year, though this figure was dragged down by carmakers shutting production plants for an extended period over Christmas and New Year due to weak demand.
"Imports are perhaps slightly stronger, so exports are (down by) slightly more than 50 percent," Kuhr said of January.
"But January isn't representative. After that, we will have to adjust to declines (in business) of 25, 30 percent."
"We hope for a stabilisation from the middle of the year ... and then a slow recovery. We expect that because some automakers are coming to the market with new products, like the new (Mercedes-Benz) E-Class," he added.
Demand for cars had "nose-dived dramatically".
"But we haven't seen such a drop for consumer goods that are needed for everyday life," Kuhr said. "We are doing relatively well there, virtually at year-ago levels."
Despite the downturn, Kuhr said BLG Logistics was planning to invest, especially in growth markets like eastern Europe and Russia so that it was ready to profit from economic recovery. The group had also so far avoided job cuts, he added. (Editing by Toby Chopra)