In 2023, Shanghai is the world’s largest port. Chinese ports dominate the ranking, demonstrating Asia’s growing power in international trade.
According to data published by the specialized magazine Ship Technology, in 2023, the port of Shanghai in China is the busiest port in the world in terms of cargo volume.
With an annual capacity of 49 million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units, a standard unit for measuring cargo capacity), the port experienced a growth of 3.6% compared to 2022.
Indeed, Shanghai hosts over 2,000 container ships each month and represents a quarter of China’s total foreign trade.
In second place, the port of Singapore handled 39 million TEUs in 2023, marking a 4.6% increase compared to the previous year. This port receives 130,000 ships annually and is connected to 600 ports in more than 120 countries worldwide.
Chinese Ports Dominate
Chinese ports overwhelmingly lead the global rankings. Indeed, nine of the ten busiest ports in the world are located in Asia, highlighting the shift of global trade flows eastward, with growth in intra-regional trade and changes in supply chains.
The port of Ningbo-Zhoushan in China holds third place with 35.3 million TEUs, while the port of Shenzhen, also in China, ranks fourth with 26.9 million TEUs.
The port of Qingdao, in China, comes in fifth with a traffic of 26.4 million TEUs. In sixth place, the port of Busan in South Korea recorded 22.8 million TEUs.
Following this, the port of Tianjin, in China, ranks seventh with 21.8 million TEUs, followed by the port of Guangzhou in China with 20.8 million TEUs.
The port of Hong Kong, in China, is in ninth place with 14.3 million TEUs, while the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands rounds out the list with 13.4 million TEUs.
It is important to note that maritime transport represents 90% of global trade by volume and 80% by value. Since the beginning of 2020, marked by the global pandemic, various factors have influenced international trade, including containerized transport.
Source: Ilboursa
