Most of the world’s top 30 ports saw strong cargo growth in 2024, rising by 7% overall, according to Alphaliner. The most significant volume growth came from Los Angeles/Long Beach at 19.8%, Tanger Med at 18.8%, and Tanjung Pelepas at 16.9%. Alphaliner attributes the significant increase in Los Angeles/Long Beach volumes to concerns about U.S. tariffs and supply chain disruptions.
The five largest ports are the four Chinese ports – Shanghai, Ningbo-Zhoushan, Shenzhen, Qingdao- and Singapore. Shanghai retained its position as the top port globally but did not widen its lead over second-ranked Singapore. The gap between them remains unchanged at 10 million TEU. Only two ports registered a drop in volumes in 2024. Hong Kong and Xiamen saw throughput declines of -4.9% and -2.4% respectively.
European ports like Rotterdam and Antwerp grew by 2.8% and 8.1%, but Hamburg recorded a modest 0.9% growth. Despite this, Rotterdam and Hamburg’s volumes are still below pre-pandemic levels, with Rotterdam down by -6.7% and Hamburg by -15.7% compared to 2.19.
The top ten global container ports in 2024 are:
1. Shanghai (China)
2. Singapore (Singapore)
3. Ningbo-Zhoushan (China) 4. Shenzhen (China)
5. Qingdao (China)
6. Guangzhou (China)
7. Busan (S. Korea)
8. Tianjin (China)
9. Los Angeles/Long Beach (U.S.A)
10. Dubai/Jebel Ali (UAE).
Source: ShippingWatch
