Shanghai portCredit: SIPG

According to the data released by China’s Ministry of Transport for the period January to June 2025 China's ports handled a total cargo throughput of 8.9 billion tons, a year-on-year increase of 4%.

Domestic trade throughput rose by 5.0% year-on-year, while foreign trade throughput increased by 1.8%. Container throughput reached 170 million teu, up 6.9% compared to the same period last year.

In the first six months, the top ten ports by container throughput were Shanghai Port, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, Shenzhen Port, Qingdao Port, Guangzhou Port, Tianjin Port, Xiamen Port, Suzhou Port, Beibu Gulf Port, and Rizhao Port.

Improved volumes came against a backdrop of sharp changes in US import tariffs by President Donald Trump which a one point reached 145%.

The US tariff adjustments in the first half led to a decline of China-US cargo volume, however, the demands from ASEAN and the EU remained robust trend, which effectively offset the shortfall in US-bound shipments. 

In terms of cargo throughput in the first half, the top 10 ports were Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, Tangshan Port, Shanghai Port, Qingdao Port, Guangzhou Port, Rizhao Port, Suzhou Port, Tianjin Port, Yantai Port, and Beibu Gulf Port.

Katherine Si

seatrade-maritime.com