Chinese port rankings redrawn during pandemic

A mix of changing trade patterns, pandemic-related closures and strategic reorganisations has seen 8 out of 12 of China's top ports change national ranking during the pandemic. Qingdao, Rizhao and Lianyungang have been the main beneficiaries of the extraordinary market conditions seen since January 2020. Overall container throughput grew 4.7% in China during 2022 to reach 295.9 Mteu.
 
Growth was greatest at the ports of Dalian (+21.5%), Rizhao (+12.1%) and Lianyungang (+10.7%), while Yingkou saw a drop of -4.0% year-on-year. Shanghai remained firmly on top with annual throughput of 47.3 Mteu, a 0.6% rise on 2021 but well below the national average following COVID-related closures. However, Qingdao rose to 4th position during the year, overtaking Guanghzhou, after increasing its throughput 8.3%. It is only 3 years ago that Qingdao became the first port in north China to handle more than 20 Mteu. Further down the rankings, Rizhao and Liangyungang overtook Yingkou and Dalian, whose port groups merged in 2021. Growth-minded Lianyungang, now ranked China's tenth busiest port, has become a jumping off point for China's Belt and Road initiative: throughput exceeded 5.0 Mteu for the first time in 2021 and in November Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) took a 23% stake in the Lianyungang Port Group, providing RMB 1.5 bn (USD 220 M) in fresh investment. Ningbo Zhoushan has been another success story, handling 33.3 Mteu in 2022, and coming within 4.0 Mteu of Singapore. By contrast, Hong Kong's throughput fell for the fifth consecutive year to 16.6 Mteu. It is today China's 7th busiest container port versus third place a decade ago. Dalian has also slipped down the rankings and its throughput is now half the volume registered five years ago.

Source: Alphaliner

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Xinde Marine News.