With global traffic of nearly 80 million tons in 2008, Le Havre is the 5th largest port in Europe in containerized traffic and the French leading port either for foreign trade and for containerized traffic. It controls more than 60% of the French market with 26.4 Mt, i.e. 2.64 MTEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit-containers) in 2007.

As a general purpose commercial Port, Le Havre processes:

• liquid bulk, 40% of the crude oil supply for France (the raw material constitutes about 40% of the total tonnage transiting through the port) is unloaded each year on Le Havre terminals.
• solid bulk, coal, cement, animal feedstuff, etc.
• general cargo including containers, ro-ro freight and conventional cargo.
• passengers who cross the English Channel to the UK or related to international cruises.

Located 2 hours away from Paris, the Port of Le Havre is the first major port in the Northwest of continental Europe on the English Channel/North Sea shipping corridor.

Owing to this exceptional geographical location, the Port of Le Havre is usually included in the round trips of the main vessels of regular shipping lines, as the first European port for imports or the last one for exports. So, it offers the best transit times for intercontinental trade.

Alongside with optimal maritime services with overseas regions, Port of Le Havre offers efficient transport means to connect with European markets:

• Short sea services with the UK, Spain, Portugal, French Atlantic ports
• Barge services with the Paris area for containerized cargo
• Rails connections with main economic centres in France, but also Germany, Northern Italy, Austria.

In line with trade development, logistics in Le Havre continues to expand: "temperature-controlled" yard, chemicals and dangerous cargo logistics, and more. The biggest names in logistics and the biggest shippers have now set up in Le Havre.

In total, the port of Le Havre provides 11.8 million square feet of existing warehouses and 6.5 Million square feet under project or construction, in the immediate neighborhood.

Since 2000, containerized traffic has seen an annual growth of almost 10%, i.e. twice the increase of total sea traffic. At the end of 2007, the number of containers handled already amounts to 2,638,000 TEU, a rise of 23.4% compared to 2006. These very good results are partly due to the opening of a new facility dedicated to containers "Port 2000," a public and private investment of more than $1.6 billion for the first phase (i.e., a quay length of 4,600 feet). Port 2000 will in the long term comprise quay berths with an overall length of 13,800 feet. The first phase entered service in 2006. The 2nd construction phase (over a length of 6,900 feet) has been launched in mid-2007 to meet the shipping lines' requirements. Thanks to this new competitive infrastructure, the Port of Le Havre aims for 6 million TEU traffic in 2020.