The year 2024 was a bumper year for global ports, with Asian ports reaching a new record high in throughput and European and American ports rebounding strongly. The world's top 30 container ports totaled 497 million TEUs, an increase of 7.6% from last year. Among the top 30 ports, Asian ports accounted for 23 seats (12 Chinese ports), European and American ports accounted for 7 seats.
In addition to the port of Hong Kong, Xiamen port, all other ports of positive growth, the highest growth rate of the top 5 ports were the Port of Long Beach (20.3%), the Port of Los Angeles (19.3%), Tangier Mediterranean Port (18.8%), Tanjung Palapas Port (16.9%) and the Port of Mundra (13.8%). The top 5 ports with the highest incremental growth are Ningbo Zhoushan Port (4 million TEU), Shenzhen Port (3.519 million TEU), Shanghai Port (2.348 million TEU), Qingdao Port (2.292 million TEU), and Singapore Port (2.111 million TEU), which are also among the top 5 container ports in the world, indicating that the global containerized trade has further clustered towards hub ports.
The top 10 container ports in 2023 are Shanghai Port, Singapore Port, Ningbo Zhoushan Port, Shenzhen Port, Qingdao Port, Guangzhou Port, Busan Port, Tianjin Port, Jebel Ali Port, Port Klang, with China's ports accounting for 6 seats, Hong Kong Port dropping out of the top 10, and Port Klang making its debut in the top 10.
Asian ports rule the top 10 and make up the majority of the top 30 ports. These ports are backed by Asia's manufacturing base and are the departure point for both the trans-Pacific route and the Asia-Europe route, with East Asian export containers accounting for 61% of global export container volumes in 2024. Intra-Asian container trade is even more robust, accounting for about 60% of Asian exports last year.
The port of Shanghai and the port of Singapore respectively crossed the 50 million TEU and 40 million TEU mark, the world's top two ports still maintain a gap of more than 10 million TEU. Ningbo Zhoushan Port increased by 4 million TEU, approaching 40 million TEU. 1-4 months, Shenzhen Port throughput was once surpassed by Qingdao Port, but in the strong pull of foreign trade, the annual throughput of the world's fourth position, Qingdao Port steadily in the world's No. 5.
Port Klang as the new top 10 ports, ambitious, in the shipping alliance changes, the Port of Singapore, Port Klang, Tanjong Parapas Port 3 geographically similar Southeast Asian transshipment ports are striving for more routes, the Port of Singapore and Evergreen Joint Venture to operate the terminals of the Da Shi port; Port Klang actively expand, has been in September last year, the construction of the West Harbor Expansion Plan, the completion of throughput capacity will be doubled; Tanjong Parapas Port to become the “Twin Stars”. The core hub of the “Twin Star” alliance.
11-20 were the Port of Rotterdam, the Port of Hong Kong, Antwerp Bruges Port, Xiamen Port, Tanjung Parapas Port, Port of Los Angeles, Tangier Mediterranean Port, Port of Suzhou, Port of Long Beach, Port of Linchaban.
Among them, the European and American port rankings are up, Asian port rankings are down, mainly due to the European and American ports in 2023, the base is low, in 2023, the Port of Rotterdam, Antwerp Bruges port fell about 7%, the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach fell to double-digit, and 2024 European and American consumption rebound, the European large ports ushered in the first time in nearly three years of growth, in fact, throughput has not returned to the peak level; North American import Portal in addition to the economic rebound, there are retailers in order to grab shipments before the tariffs take effect and other factors.
Tangier Mediterranean port has become the newest ten million TEU port, ranking rose again, firmly in the world's top 20, is the only African port in the list, mainly responsible for the Mediterranean Sea and the European region of the transshipment of goods. Opened in 2007, the port has grown at a CAGR of 15.22% from 2008-2024, but it is nearing full capacity and Morocco is developing a new transshipment port, N'Zoursi Middle Sea Port.
Suzhou Port is the only river port in the list and the largest river port in the world. The port has the largest number of routes along the Yangtze River, the highest density and the widest coverage, and in addition to being a trunk port for domestic trade containers and a transshipment hub for the Yangtze River, it is also a trunk port for mid-ocean and near-ocean containers.
The 21st-30th places are Kaohsiung Port, Ho Chi Minh City Port, Beibuwan Port, Port of New York New Jersey, Port of Montréal, Port of Hamburg, Port of Colombo, Port of Jakarta, Port of Nawasawa, and Port of Rizhao, respectively. The ports of Kaohsiung, Ho Chi Minh City, and Beibuwan slipped down the rankings, although they all achieved growth in throughput, but were pushed down by rebounding European and American ports.
Vietnam port data is more difficult to determine, last year, Vietnam seaports last year completed 29.9 million TEU, an increase of 21% year-on-year, a conservative estimate, the port of Ho Chi Minh City last year, throughput of about 9.154 million TEU. Vietnam's other port Gai Mai port is located in Ba Di-Tuong province, including a number of terminals in the Gai Mai-Schwai port complex, according to the Vietnam Seaports Association and Saigon Newport data, these terminals completed a total of 4.868 million TEUs in 2023, and more than 6.5 million TEUs in 2024, did not make the TOP 30 list.
However, Ho Chi Minh City Port is not deep enough, and Gai Mui Port is the largest deep-water port in Vietnam, which has already received and discharged the world's largest class of container ships, and will strive for more international transshipment business with great potential. In addition, the giant transshipment port invested by MSC in Can Yai has been included in Vietnam's port planning, and Hai Phong port in northern Vietnam is developing at a high speed, and all these ports are expected to be among the TOP 30 in the world in the future.
As the destination of industrial transfer, other ports in Southeast Asia and South Asia are also increasing their infrastructure investment, with the construction of Linchaban Port Phase III advancing on schedule, Colombo Port recently opening a new terminal, and India signing a contract with major liner companies to prepare for the construction of Wadhwan Port.
The year 2024 was like a throwback to the era of globalization, with major container ports benefiting from both the economic recovery and rising consumer demand, as well as profiting from the rush of goods and stockpiling by retailers before tariffs came into effect. But from 2025 onwards, as the trade war heats up, port throughput growth will inevitably come under pressure, and the long-standing pattern of Asian exports - European and American imports - will see a shift to fragmented regional trade as a growth point for ports.