Shanghai still world No.1 boxport despite Covid

• Shanghai was still the world’s busiest container port in 2022 with throughput of 47.3 million TEUs, despite the disruptions caused by COVID-19 and the weather on the port

• Last year’s volume exceeded by about 0.6% Shanghai Port’s total throughput of 47.03 million TEUs in 2021

• It was the 13^th year running that Shanghai was the No.1 port globally

For the 13^th straight year, Shanghai was still the world’s No.1 boxport despite COVID-19’s disruptions in 2022 on the Chinese gateway’s operations, Xinhua has reported, citing newly released port data.

The port’s 2022 container throughput exceeded 47.3 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), according to figures released by its operator, Shanghai International Port (Group) Co. Ltd., Xinhua reported. The 2022 volume was about 0.6% more than the port’s 2021 total throughput of 47.03 million TEUs.

Shanghai Port defied a two-month citywide lockdown starting April amid a wave of COVID infections that kept its export industries’ limited production activity to continue operating under difficult conditions to keep China’s international trade flowing.

The port’s steadfast operation despite the challenges to health, transport and logistics posed by the epidemic in April-May and its current resurgence, as well as last year’s hot and cold spells, helped the gateway retain its global leading position.

Braving the epidemic and adverse weather last year, the port guaranteed the stable operation of the Shanghai International Shipping Center and safeguarded the stability of global industrial and supply chains, Xinhua said.

Following the COVID-related lockdowns in the second quarter, the world’s largest port swung back into full operations in June in a bid to clear the backlog of exports that piled up when its performance was limited by the effects of the lockdown.

The port managed to make a V-shaped recovery in container throughput in July, handling a monthly record high of 4.3 million TEUs stay on track as No.1 boxport despite COVID.

In July last year, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) predicted that Shanghai will lead the world’s top 20 container ports by the end of 2022 with throughput of 48.2 million TEUs. Eight other Chinese ports including Ningbo-Zhoushan, Qingdao and Tianjin will be among them, CAS said.

But the forecast for Shanghai fell short obviously due to the unexpected resurgence of COVID across China in the last quarter of 2022 that disrupted the country’s export-oriented industries.

Meanwhile, Xinhua reported on January 3 that goods shipment volume via Ganqmod Port in North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region exceeded 19 million tons in 2022, making it the highway port with the largest throughput between China and Mongolia.

This figure is 2.44x that of 2021, Xinhua reported, citing Ganqmod Port management committee in Bayan Nur City. Of the goods, imported coal exceeded 18 million tons, soaring nearly 160% year on year, while exported goods reached 257,700 tons, surging more than 74% y-o-y.

In 2021, the port’s shipment volume dropped significantly due to the impact of the pandemic and other factors. Inner Mongolia took innovative measures in 2022, including improving the business environment and intelligent customs clearance, to promote the recovery of the shipment volume at the port.

Today, the daily number of inbound and outbound cargo vehicles via the port has increased to more than 3,500 from just 400 in 2009, according to the management committee.

Ganqmod Port, a major energy import channel for the country, has become an important hub on the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor, Xinhua said.