This article lists the world's busiest container ports (ports with container terminals that specialize in handling goods transported in intermodal shipping containers), by total number of twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) transported through the port. The table lists volume in thousands of TEU per year. The vast majority of containers moved by large, ocean-faring container ships are 20-foot (1 TEU) and 40-foot (2 TEU) ISO-standard shipping containers, with 40-foot units outnumbering 20-foot units to such an extent that the actual number of containers moved is between 55%–60% of the number of TEUs counted. [1]
# | Port | Country | Region | Location | 2023 [3] | 2022 [4] | 2021 [5] | 2020 [5] [6] | 2019 [7] | 2018 [7] [8] [9] | 2017 [10] | 2016 [11] | 2015 [12] | 2014 [12] | 2013 [13] | 2012 [14] | 2011 [15] | 2010 [16] | 2009 [17] | 2008 [18] | 2007 [19] | 2006 [20] | 2005 [21] | 2004 [22] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Shanghai | China | East Asia | Yangtze Delta | 49,000 | 47,303 | 47,030 | 43,500 | 43,303 | 42,010 | 40,233 | 37,133 | 36,537 [23] | 35,268 | 33,617 | 32,529 | 31,700 | 29,069 | 25,002 | 27,980 | 26,150 | 21,710 | 18,084 | 14,557 | |
2 | Singapore | Singapore | Southeast Asia | Singapore Strait | 39,010 | 37,289 | 37,470 | 36,600 | 37,195 | 36,599 | 33,666 | 30,904 [24] | 30,922 [24] | 33,869 | 32,240 | 31,649 | 29,937 | 28,431 | 25,866 | 29,918 | 27,932 | 24,792 | 23,192 | 21,329 | |
3 | Ningbo-Zhoushan | China | East Asia | Yangtze Delta | 35,300 | 33,351 | 31,070 | 28,720 | 27,530 | 26,351 | 24,607 | 21,560 [25] | 20,620 [25] | 19,450 | 17,351 | 16,670 | 14,686 | 13,144 | 10,502 | 11,226 | 9,349 | 7,068 | 5,208 | 4,006 | |
4 | Shenzhen | China | East Asia | Pearl River Delta | 26,890 | 30,036 | 28,768 | 26,550 | 25,770 | 25,740 | 25,208 | 23,979 [26] | 24,204 [26] | 23,798 | 23,280 | 22,940 | 22,570 | 22,510 | 18,250 | 21,414 | 21,099 | 18,469 | 16,197 | 13,615 | |
5 | Qingdao | China | East Asia | Yellow Sea | 26,390 | 25,670 | 23,710 | 22,000 | 21,010 | 19,315 | 18,262 | 18,010 [27] | 17,510 | 16,624 | 15,520 | 14,503 | 13,020 | 12,012 | 10,260 | 10,320 | 9,462 | 7,702 | 6,307 | 5,140 | |
6 | Busan | South Korea | East Asia | Korean Strait | 22,750 | 22,078 | 22,706 | 21,590 | 21,992 | 21,662 | 20,493 | 19,850 [28] | 19,469 [28] | 18,423 | 17,690 | 17,046 | 16,185 | 14,157 | 11,954 | 13,425 | 13,270 | 12,039 | 11,843 | 11,430 | |
7 | Tianjin | China | East Asia | Yellow Sea | 21,800 | 21,021 | 20,269 | 18,350 | 17,264 | 15,972 | 15,040 | 14,490 [29] | 14,090 | 14,050 | 13,010 | 12,300 | 11,500 | 10,080 | 8,700 | 8,500 | 7,103 | 5,950 | 4,801 | 3,814 | |
8 | Guangzhou | China | East Asia | Pearl River Delta | 20,800 | 24,857 | 24,180 | 23,190 | 23,236 | 21,992 | 20,370 | 18,858 [30] | 17,625 | 16,160 | 15,309 | 14,744 | 14,400 | 12,550 | 11,190 | 11,001 | 9,200 | 6,600 | 4,685 | 3,308 | |
9 | Los Angeles / Long Beach | United States | North America | West Coast | 16,618 [31] [32] | 19,044 | 20,061 | 17,327 | 16,969 | 17,549 | 17,013 | 15,632 [33] [34] | 15,352 | 15,161 | 14,600 | 14,124 | 14,002 | 14,095 | 11,815 | 14,200 | 15,671 | 15,759 | 14,195 | 13,101 | |
10 | Jebel Ali | United Arab Emirates | West Asia | Persian Gulf | 14,472 | 13,970 | 13,742 | 13,488 | 14,111 | 14,954 | 15,368 | 14,772 [35] | 15,592 | 14,750 | 13,641 | 13,270 | 13,000 | 11,600 | 11,124 | 11,827 | 10,653 | 8,923 | 7,619 | 6,429 | |
11 | Hong Kong | Hong Kong, China | East Asia | Pearl River Delta | 14,300 | 16,685 | 17,798 | 20,070 | 18,361 | 19,596 | 20,770 | 19,813 [36] | 20,073 [36] | 22,374 | 22,352 | 23,117 | 24,384 | 23,532 | 20,983 | 24,248 | 23,881 | 23,539 | 22,427 | 21,984 | |
12 | Port Klang | Malaysia | Southeast Asia | Malacca Strait | 14,061 | 13,220 | 13,724 | 13,240 | 13,580 | 12,316 | 11,978 | 13,170 [37] | 11,887 | 10,736 | 10,350 | 10,000 | 9,604 | 8,870 | 7,309 | 7,970 | 7,120 | 6,326 | 5,544 | 5,244 | |
13 | Rotterdam | Netherlands | Europe | Rhine delta | 13,400 | 14,455 | 15,300 | 14,350 | 14,810 | 14,512 | 13,734 | 12,385 [38] | 12,235 | 12,453 | 11,621 | 11,866 | 11,877 | 11,146 | 9,743 | 10,784 | 10,791 | 9,655 | 9,287 | 8,281 | |
14 | Xiamen | China | East Asia | Taiwan Strait | 12,550 | 12,434 | 12,045 | 11,410 | 11,122 | 10,702 | 10,380 | 9,614 [39] | 9,183 | 8,572 | 8,010 | 7,202 | 6,461 | 5,820 | 4,680 | 5,035 | 4,627 | 4,019 | 3,342 | 2,872 | |
15 | Antwerp | Belgium | Europe | Scheldt delta | 12,528 | 13,500 | 12,020 | 12,031 | 11,860 | 11,100 | 10,451 | 10,037 [40] | 9,654 | 9,136 | 8,578 | 8,635 | 8,664 | 8,468 | 7,309 | 8,663 | 8,176 | 7,019 | 6,482 | 6,064 | |
16 | Tanjung Pelepas | Malaysia | Southeast Asia | Malacca Strait | 10,480 | 10,512 | 11,200 | 9,850 | 9,100 | 8,960 | 8,261 | 8,281 [41] | 9,120 | 8,500 [12] | 7,628 | 7,700 | 7,500 | 6,530 | 6,000 | 5,600 | 5,500 | 4,770 | 4,177 | 4,020 | |
17 | Kaohsiung | Taiwan | East Asia | Taiwan Strait | 8,834 | 9,491 | 9,864 | 9,622 | 10,428 | 10,445 | 10,271 | 10,465 [42] | 10,264 | 10,593 | 9,938 | 9,781 | 9,636 | 8,872 | 8,581 | 9,677 | 10,257 | 9,775 | 9,471 | 9,714 | |
18 | Laem Chabang | Thailand | Southeast Asia | Gulf of Thailand | 8,680 | 8,741 | 8,335 | 7,547 | 8,106 | 8,070 | 7,670 | 7,227 [43] | 6,780 | 6,518 | 6,032 | 5,830 | 5,731 | 5,068 | 4,538 | 5,134 | 4,642 | 4,123 | 3,834 | 3,529 | |
19 | Tanger-Med | Morocco | North Africa | Western Mediterranean | 8,617 [44] | 7,596 | 7,173 | 5,771 | 4,801 | 3,472 | 3,312 | 2,960 | |||||||||||||
20 | New York / New Jersey | United States | North America | East Coast | 9,493 | 8,985 | 7,586 | 7,471 | 7,179 | 6,711 | 6,252 [45] | 6,372 | 5,772 | 5,467 | 5,530 | 5,503 | 5,292 | 4,561 | 5,265 | 5,299 | 5,093 | 4,785 | 4,478 | ||
21 | Hamburg | Germany | Europe | Elbe River | 7.700 [46] | 8,261 | 8,715 | 8,540 | 9,274 | 8,730 | 8,860 | 8,910 [47] | 8,821 | 9,729 | 9,302 | 8,864 | 9,022 | 7,900 | 7,007 | 9,737 | 9,890 | 8,862 | 8,088 | 7,003 | |
22 | Taicang / Suzhou | China | East Asia | Yangtze Delta | 8,025 | 7,038 | 5,212 | 5,152 | 5,071 | 4,514 | 4,081 | 3,760 | |||||||||||||
23 | Saigon | Vietnam | Southeast Asia | South China Sea | 7,905 | 7,956 | 7,854 | 7,220 | 6,586 | 6,156 | 5,987 [48] | 5,788 [12] [48] | 6,334 | 5,542 | 5,060 | 4,674 | 4,100 | 3,563 | 3,100 | 2,532 | 2,532 | 2,122 | 1,868 | ||
24 | Tanjung Priok | Indonesia | Southeast Asia | Java Sea | 6,849 | 6,134 | 7,600 | 7,640 | 6,090 | 5,515 [49] | 5,201 [49] | 5,034 | 6,590 | 6,200 | 5,618 | 4,715 | 3,800 | 3,984 | 3,900 | 3,280 | 3,282 | 3,170 | |||
25 | Colombo | Sri Lanka | Indian Subcontinent | Laccadive Sea | 6,860 | 7,250 | 6,855 | 7,228 | 7,047 | 6,209 | 5,735 [50] | 5,185 [12] [50] | 4,910 | 2,221 | |||||||||||
26 | Mundra | India | Indian Subcontinent | Gulf of Kutch | 6,503 | 6,660 | 6,503 | 5,657 | 4,732 | 4,449 | 4,240 | 3,320 | 2,895 | ||||||||||||
27 | Nhava Sheva / Mumbai | India | Indian Subcontinent | Arabian Sea | 5,959 | 5,630 | 4,470 | 5,100 | 5,051 | 4,833 | 4,432 | 4,490 | 4,450 | ||||||||||||
28 | Savannah | United States | North America | East Coast | 5,892 | 5,613 | 4,682 | 4,599 | 4,350 | 4,046 | 3,645 | 3,737 | 3,346 | 3,034 | 2,966 | 2,945 | 2,825 | 2,356 | 2,616 | 2,604 | 2,160 | 1,902 | 1,662 | ||
29 | Rizhao | China | East Asia | Yellow Sea | 5,804 | 5,174 | 4,860 | 4,500 | 4,000 | 3,240 | 3,010 [51] | 2,810 [51] | |||||||||||||
30 | Hai Phong | Vietnam | Southeast Asia | Hong River Delta | 5,629 | 5,696 | 5,142 | 5,133 | 4,954 | ||||||||||||||||
31 | Vũng Tàu | Vietnam | Southeast Asia | South China Sea | 5,593 | 5,385 | 4,411 | 3,742 | 3,567 | 3,065 | 2,261 | ||||||||||||||
32 | Lianyungang | China | East Asia | Yellow Sea | 5,570 | 5,090 | 4,800 | 4,780 | 4,750 | 4,711 | 4,703 | 4,703 | |||||||||||||
33 | Manila | Philippines | Southeast Asia | Manila Bay | 5,474 | 4,976 | 4,443 | 5,315 | 5,085 | 4,782 | 4,523 | 3,976 | 3,673 | 3,770 | 3,705 | 3,250 | 3,257 | 2,815 | 2,977 | 2,800 | 2,638 | 2,625 | |||
34 | Qinzhou | China | East Asia | Gulf of Tonkin | 5,407 | 4,630 | 3,950 | 2,580 | 2,400 | 2,303 | 2,091 | ||||||||||||||
35 | Colón | Panama | Central America | Caribbean coast | 5,102 | 4,916 | 4,454 | 4,379 | 3,890 | 3,891 | 3,258 | 3,577 | 3,356 | 2,060 | 1,900 | 1,600 | 2,802 | 1,856 [52] | 2,262 | N/A | 1,947 | 2,150 | |||
36 | Valencia | Spain | Europe | Western Mediterranean | 5,052 | 5,604 | 5,428 | 5,439 | 5,128 | 4,832 | 4,722 | 4,616 | 4,442 | 4,328 | 4,470 | 4,327 | 4,207 | 3,653 | 3,593 | 3,043 | 2,612 | 2,410 | 2,145 | ||
37 | Piraeus | Greece | Europe | Eastern Mediterranean | 5,000 | 5,311 | 5,437 | 5,648 | 4,907 | 4,145 | 3,737 | 3,330 | 3,164 | 2,745 | 1,680 | 1,198 | 665 | 434 | 1,373 | N/A | N/A | N/A | |||
38 | Yingkou | China | East Asia | Liaodong Bay | 4,995 | 5,207 | 5,650 | 5,480 | 6,487 | 6,278 | 6,086 [53] | 5,922 | 5,770 | ||||||||||||
39 | Santos | Brazil | South America | South Atlantic Ocean | 4,986 | 4,831 | 4,232 | 4,165 | 4,120 | 3,854 | 3,394 | 3,645 | 3,685 | 3,446 | 3,172 | 2,985 | 2,716 | 2,252 | 2,675 | 2,533 | 2,208 | 2,240 | 1,883 | ||
40 | Jeddah | Saudi Arabia | West Asia | Red Sea | 4,960 | 4,882 | 4,737 | 4,433 | 4,120 | 4,150 | 3,957 | 4,188 [54] | 4,200 | 4,561 | 4,738 | 4,010 | 3,830 | 3,091 | 3,326 | 3,068 | 2,964 | 2,836 | 2,426 | ||
41 | Algeciras | Spain | Europe | Western Mediterranean | 4,767 | 4,799 | 5,108 | 5,125 | 4,773 | 4,340 | 4,761 [55] | 4,516 [55] | 4,457 | 4,501 | 4,114 | 3,603 | 2,810 | 3,042 | 3,324 | 3,152 | 3,257 | 3,180 | 2,937 | ||
42 | Bremerhaven | Germany | Europe | North Sea | 4,572 | 5,018 | 4,767 | 4,856 | 5,450 | 5,510 | 5,535 [56] | 5,479 [56] | 5,796 | 5,831 | 6,115 | 5,915 | 4,871 | 4,578 | 5,529 | 4,912 | 4,450 | 3,736 | 3,469 | ||
43 | Salalah | Oman | West Asia | Arabian Sea | 4,504 | 4,510 | 4,340 | 4,109 | 3,390 | 3,946 | 3,325 | 2,569 | 2,229 | ||||||||||||
44 | Dalian | China | East Asia | Yellow Sea | 4,459 | 3,672 | 5,110 | 10,210 | 9,770 | 9,707 | 9,614 [57] | 9,450 | 10,128 | 10,860 | 8,060 | 6,400 | 5,242 | 4,552 | 4,503 | 4,574 | 3,212 | 2,665 | 2,211 | ||
45 | Tokyo | Japan | East Asia | Tokyo Bay | 4,430 | 4,326 | 4,260 | 4,510 | 4,570 | 4,500 | 4,700 | 4,629 | 4,917 | 4,861 | 4,752 | 4,640 | 4,286 | 3,810 | 4,271 | 3,818 | 3,969 | 3,593 | 3,358 | ||
46 | Abu Dhabi | United Arab Emirates | West Asia | Persian Gulf | 4,330 | 3,440 | 3,220 | 2,780 | 1,740 | 1,400 | |||||||||||||||
47 | Port Said | Egypt | North Africa | North of Suez Canal | 4,252 | 4,765 | 4,010 | 3,816 | 3,105 | 2,968 | 3,036 | 3,462 | 3,036 | 4,100 | 3,631 | 4,272 | 3,646 | 3,300 | 3,202 | 2,127 | 2,127 | 1,522 | 869 | ||
48 | Yantai | China | East Asia | Yellow Sea | 4,117 | 3,651 | 3,300 | 3,102 | 3,001 | ||||||||||||||||
49 | Houston | United States | North America | Gulf of Mexico | 3,974 | 3,453 | 3,001 | 2,987 | 2,701 | ||||||||||||||||
50 | Tanjung Perak | Indonesia | Southeast Asia | Madura Strait | 3,972 | 3,901 | 3,602 | ||||||||||||||||||
Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers. Containerization, also referred as container stuffing or container loading, is the process of unitization of cargoes in exports. Containerization is the predominant form of unitization of export cargoes today, as opposed to other systems such as the barge system or palletization. The containers have standardized dimensions. They can be loaded and unloaded, stacked, transported efficiently over long distances, and transferred from one mode of transport to another—container ships, rail transport flatcars, and semi-trailer trucks—without being opened. The handling system is mechanized so that all handling is done with cranes and special forklift trucks. All containers are numbered and tracked using computerized systems.
A container ship is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport and now carry most seagoing non-bulk cargo.
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Evergreen Marine Corporation is a Taiwanese container transportation and shipping company that is headquartered in Luzhu District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan. With over 150 container ships, it is part of the Evergreen Group conglomerate of transportation firms and associated companies.
The Port of Hamburg is a seaport on the river Elbe in Hamburg, Germany, 110 kilometres (68 mi) from its mouth on the North Sea.
The Port of Prince Rupert is a seaport managed by the Prince Rupert Port Authority that occupies 667,731 hectares of land and water along 20 kilometres of waterfront. The port is located in Prince Rupert Harbour in the North Coast Regional District of British Columbia.
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Yangshan Port, formally the Yangshan Deep-Water Port, is a deep water port for container ships in Hangzhou Bay south of Shanghai. The port is part of the Maritime Silk Road. The port is built on the islands of Greater and Lesser Yangshan, part of the Zhoushan archipelago, with fill from land reclamation. Connected to Shanghai's Pudong New Area by the Donghai Bridge and forming part of the Port of Shanghai, the islands of Greater and Lesser Yangshan are administered separately as part of Zhejiang's Shengsi County.
The Port of Algeciras is the port and harbour of Algeciras, a city located in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It is a commercial, fishing and passenger port. Primarily a transshipment port, its position near the Strait of Gibraltar and key east–west shipping routes establishes it as one of the busiest transshipment hubs in the world. It competes with Tanger-Med for the local transshipment market. It consists of numerous maritime infrastructures scattered throughout the Bay of Gibraltar. Although only the town of Algeciras and La Línea de la Concepción overlook the bay, there are port facilities in the rest of the bank, also belonging to the municipalities of San Roque and Los Barrios. It is managed along the port of Tarifa by the Port Authority of Algeciras Bay.
Port of Guangzhou is the main seaport of Guangzhou city, Guangdong province, China. The port is operated by Guangzhou Port Group Co. Ltd which is a state owned company. The company was established on February 26, 2004 from the former Guangzhou Harbor Bureau. It was approved by the Guangzhou Municipal Government. It is currently the largest comprehensive port in South China. Its international maritime trade reaches over 300 ports in more than 80 countries and districts worldwide. The port also incorporates the former Huangpu Port.
The Port of Manila refers to the collective facilities and terminals that process maritime trade function in harbors in Metro Manila. Located in the Port Area and Tondo districts of Manila, facing Manila Bay, it is the largest and the premier international shipping gateway to the country. The Philippine Ports Authority, a government-owned corporation, manages the Port of Manila and most of the public ports in the country. It is composed of 3 major facilities, namely Manila North Harbor, Manila South Harbor, and the Manila International Container Terminal.
The Port of Piraeus is the chief sea port of Athens, located on the Saronic Gulf on the western coasts of the Aegean Sea, the largest port in Greece and one of the largest in Europe.
The Port of Tanjung Priok is the busiest and most advanced seaport in Indonesia, handling more than 50% of Indonesia's trans-shipment cargo traffic. The port is located at Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, and is operated by Indonesian state-owned PT Pelindo. The port has 20 terminals for accommodating general cargo, liquid bulk, dry bulk, containers, etc. It has specialised facilities catering to oil tankers, chemical-laden ships, metal scrap, and passengers.
The Triple E class is a family of very large container ships with a capacity of more than 18,000 TEUs, which are owned and operated by Maersk Line.
Maersk Line is a Danish international container shipping company and the largest operating subsidiary of Maersk, a Danish business conglomerate. Founded in 1928, it is the world's second largest container shipping company by both fleet size and cargo capacity, offering regular services to 374 ports in 116 countries. As of 2024, it employed over 100,000 people. Maersk Line operates over 700 vessels and has a total capacity of about 4.1 million TEU.
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