Initial ports data for September suggests cargo volumes have already started to drop ahead of the Chinese holidays in October, confirming the weak peak season trend this year. Container volumes fell month on month across the 4 main Far East ports that have published their September volumes so far at Shanghai, Singapore, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, with the falls ranging from -2.8% to -4.5%. Despite the reduced MoM volumes, they were mostly still ahead of the same period last year with Shenzhen in p
Shanghai port recorded a 2023 high in June, with container throughput reaching 4.15m teu with volumes following a more normal seasonal pattern after the turbulence in the last 2 years.
Shanghai reported total container volumes of 4.10m teu in May, for its strongest monthly performance so far this year. Although the May volumes were 20.5% higher than the corresponding period last year, the large increase was due to the 2-month COVID-19 lockdown in April and May 2022 which dragged down Shanghai’s volumes last year. YTD volume growth for the first 5 months of the year reached 4.4% but volumes remain well below the 2022 monthly peak of 4.35m teu. In the India subcontinent, Nhava
Total volumes in the twin Eastern China main ports of Shanghai and Ningbo rebounded in June, posting a month on month increase of 2.3% compared to May and a 0.1% increase year on year compared to June 2021.
Global port congestion dropped from 13.1% to 11.1% in the past week, due mainly to the fall in Chinese port congestion.
The top 3 ports in the world all reported improved throughput volumes in May, with Shanghai retaining the top spot at 3.4m teu last month for a 10.3% MoM rebound.
What may have gone unnoticed by the market is the outperformance of port throughput in China relative to the other Asian cargo origins. Shanghai lockdown has many expected a drop in volume out of China ...
Chinese port volumes were surprisingly resilient in April, with overall container volumes dropping by just 0.2% YoY last month despite the extended lockdowns in Shanghai that brought down the main Chinese port’s throughput by 17.0% YoY.
The extended lockdown in Shanghai has hurt overall Chinese container port volumes, with Shanghai port reporting a 25% month on month reduction in April. But other Chinese ports have stepped up, with Ningbo reporting a 12% YoY increase. The overall impact on global container volumes is small...