An infographic released by Alphaliner shows the top 30 ports by TEU volume as of 2014, with a comparison of container throughput in 2013 for each port.

According to the infographic, China’s mega-ports have maintained their position as the top five global ports by container throughput, with the world leader, the Port of Shanghai, having climbed almost two million TEU since 2013.

In a previous article by PTI, it was reported that China’s mega container ports are expected to see colossal growth between now and 2030, with annual container throughput expected to reach around 6% year-on-year.

The current increase in container volumes comes at a time when container ship capacities have progressively increased by around eight times in the last 40 years from 2,400 to 19,000 TEU.

Will port and shipping collaboration assist with container handling?

Container ship capacities could even reach around 24,000 TEU as the rate of ship orders and capacities continues to increase, with the most recent example being Maersk Line, who has placed an order for around  ten 20,000 TEU ships, maintaining its position of owning the world’s largest container ship fleet.

Such capacities have recently sparked uproar as to who will be paying for new crane technologies to be able to handle the increase TEU throughput.

Various US ports have begun to invest heavily in their infrastructure to prepare for the wave of container trade that is anticipated upon the 2016 completion of the expanded Panama Canal.
(Source : www.porttechnology.org)