Last year, the Koper port handled over 1.8 million tonnes of Austrian exports and over 3.3 million tonnes of its imports. This totals to 5,193,533 tonnes, which is 7.5% less than in 2011, but it nevertheless puts Koper ahead of leading European ports such as Rotterdam, Hamburg and Antwerp.

Austria has traditionally been Luka Koper's most important transit market, covering one third of the transshipment, which is the same as the Slovenian market.

Goods headed for Austria or arriving from the country are being transshipped on virtually all terminals, but most of it are bulk cargo, liquids and containers, Luka Koper said.

The port operator has been strengthening its position on other European markets as well. For several years in a row it has been the most important port for Hungary in terms of transshipment of containers.

Having transshipped 120,000 container units in 2012, Luka Koper has the highest market share in this segment. The port supplies containers mostly to electronics and car industry companies.

Luka Koper's third biggest market, where its market share has been steadily rising, is Slovakia. Slovakian car and steel industries are a major importer and exporter of raw materials as well as end products, mostly cars.

The Slovenian port operator also sees great potential on the German market, where it currently generates only 2% of transshipment. It sees the most opportunities in the car industry, but here the northern European ports have a strong competitive edge, especially due to the fast railway connections.