The Baltic Exchange, in collaboration with Xinhua News Agency, proudly announces the release of the 2024 Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index (ISCDI) Report. This annual report, now in its 11th year, ranks the world’s leading shipping centres based on a comprehensive evaluation of port factors, professional business services, and the general environment.   

For the 11th consecutive year, Singapore has been recognised as the world’s leading shipping centre, achieving a score of 96.23 out of 100. The enduring success of the island nation is attributed to Singapore’s strategic location, robust international outlook, and a well-established ecosystem of professional maritime services.   

London once again secured second position with a score of 82.50, demonstrating its continued prominence as a maritime support services powerhouse. Shanghai, with a score of 81.84, retained third place, highlighting its significant role as a major port city in Asia. London and Shanghai have retained their positions of second and third place, respectively, within the Index for the past five years.   

Hong Kong (79.07) and Dubai (75.64) rounded out the top five, emphasising the strength and importance of these key global shipping hubs. Rotterdam solidified its position as a European leader by maintaining its strong sixth place from 2023 into 2024.   

Meanwhile both Athens/Piraeus and Ningbo Zhoushan have each climbed one place in the rankings this year, to seventh and eighth, respectively. As a result, Hamburg has dropped two spots to ninth but still maintains its decade-long position in the top 10.   

As in 2023, New York/New Jersey rounded out the top 10 owing to a substantial increase in container volumes, as well as improvements in port infrastructure. 

Key findings of the 2024 ISCDI Report:   
· Top Performers: Singapore, London, and Shanghai continue to lead the rankings, underscoring their global leadership in shipping.
· Stability in Rankings: The top 10 shipping centres have shown little change from the previous year, reflecting the stability and sustained performance of these hubs and the wider maritime industry.
· New Entrant: Tianjin was the only new feature to this year’s list, taking 19th position, marking yet another Asian port in the global rankings.   

Other notable rankings include Houston at 11th (68.08), Tokyo at 12th (66.60), and Guangzhou at 13th (65.36). These cities continue to demonstrate robust maritime capabilities and significant contributions to global shipping.   

The ISCDI Report evaluates a total of 43 maritime locations, considering various port metrics such as cargo throughput, crane count, container berth length, and port draught. It also assesses the presence of professional maritime support businesses, including shipbroking, ship management, ship financing, insurance, and legal services, alongside hull underwriting premiums. Additionally, the evaluation considers general business environment factors like customs tariffs, the level of electronic government services, and overall logistics performance.   

According to this year’s ISCDI Report, the average score amongst the top 10 ports is 77.12 out of 100, and 69.98 for the top 20, with the average across the entire 43 rankings standing at 59.13.   

Mark Jackson, Chief Executive of the Baltic Exchange, commented: “It has been eleven years since the Baltic Exchange began collaborating with Xinhua News Agency on this Index, and in that time, we have observed significant shifts in global trade patterns. The international shipping industry in 2023 demonstrated remarkable resilience and adaptability, reinforcing its indispensable role as the cornerstone of global trade. Despite facing significant economic slowdowns, geopolitical tensions, and environmental challenges, the sector maintained stability and continued to facilitate the movement of essential goods around the world.   

“This year’s rankings highlight the strength of global ports, with Singapore, London, and Shanghai continuing to lead the way, providing world-class services and infrastructure that underpin the industry’s success. The shipping industry will continue to face challenges such as decarbonisation and evolving trade routes. However, its inherent resilience and strategic importance will ensure that it remains a critical driver of global economic growth and stability.”   

Pan Haiping, Chairman of China Economic Information Service, said: “This year’s ISCDI Report shows that the world’s trade and shipping network underwent some subtle changes in 2023. Even with all the challenges the global shipping industry faced throughout the year, including route challenges in the Panama Canal and the Red Sea, the maritime sector continues to exhibit strong vitality and excellent resilience, driven by global demand for goods.   

“Decarbonisation has also become the consensus in the global shipping industry, while digital technologies such as AI, digital twins, IoT, and automation are constantly empowering the shipping industry and promoting the development of ports to become more efficient, smarter and more sustainable.   

“An efficient, safe, green and smart future is our expectation for the global shipping industry. We look forward to seeing the world’s international maritime centres, particularly those highlighted in our report, playing their part to explore the future development of the shipping industry.”   

Teo Eng Dih, Chief Executive, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, said: “We thank our international partners, including maritime administrations, port authorities, industry, research community, the enterprise ecosystem as well as unions, for this achievement. We will continue to value-add to the maritime community and explore opportunities for collaboration with like-minded partners to strengthen Singapore’s connectivity and advance maritime decarbonisation, digitalisation and talent development for the global maritime community.”   

Global rankings of the last decade – 2015 to 2024:


source: Baltic Exchange

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