An estimated 90% of world trade is facilitated by maritime shipping, and as trade volumes continue to increase, the world’s busiest ports continue to grow larger and more efficient to meet demand.
n fact, in just the last four years, the median annual volume of the top 50 ports jumped from 5.49 to 5.86 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).
Here are the world’s 20 largest ports, using the most recent data from the World Shipping Council:
Rank Port Name Country 2016 Volume 2012 Volume 4-Year Change
| 1 | Shanghai | 🇨🇳 China | 37.1 | 32.5 | +14% |
| 2 | Singapore | 🇸🇬 Singapore | 30.9 | 31.7 | -2% |
| 3 | Shenzhen | 🇨🇳 China | 24.0 | 22.9 | +5% |
| 4 | Ningbo-Zhoushan | 🇨🇳 China | 21.6 | 16.8 | +28% |
| 5 | Busan | 🇰🇷 S. Korea | 19.9 | 17.0 | +17% |
| 6 | Hong Kong | ðŸ‡ðŸ‡° China | 19.8 | 23.1 | -14% |
| 7 | Guangzhou Harbor | 🇨🇳 China | 18.9 | 14.7 | +28% |
| 8 | Qingdao | 🇨🇳 China | 18.0 | 14.5 | +24% |
| 9 | Jebel Ali | 🇦🇪 U.A.E. | 15.7 | 13.3 | +18% |
| 10 | Tianjin | 🇨🇳 China | 14.5 | 12.3 | +18% |
| 11 | Port Klang | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | 13.2 | 10.0 | +32% |
| 12 | Rotterdam | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 12.4 | 11.9 | +4% |
| 13 | Kaohsiung | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | 10.5 | 9.8 | +7% |
| 14 | Antwerp | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 10.0 | 8.6 | +16% |
| 15 | Dalian | 🇨🇳 China | 9.6 | 8.9 | +8% |
| 16 | Xiamen | 🇨🇳 China | 9.6 | 7.2 | +34% |
| 17 | Hamburg | 🇩🇪 Germany | 8.91 | 8.89 | 0% |
| 18 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 U.S.A. | 8.9 | 8.1 | +10% |
| 19 | Tanjung Pelepas | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | 8.3 | 7.7 | +8% |
| 20 | Keihin | 🇯🇵 Japan | 7.6 | 7.9 | -3% |
Only five of the top 20 ports in the world are now located outside of East Asia. The Port of Los Angeles is the only U.S. entrant in the top 20, and only three European ports made the cut.
Today, trade is more likely than ever to flow through the South China Sea.
Ruling the High Seas
From dollar store knick-knacks to nuclear reactor components, China’s manufacturing output is a critical link in the global supply chain. Getting all those products to consumers and companies around the world is big business, and over the past decade, China has emerged as the heavyweight champion of world shipping.
While Danish company, Maersk, is still the largest shipping line, an ever increasing share of the world’s container traffic is moving through Chinese controlled ports. An estimated two-thirds of container traffic now passes through Chinese ports or ports that have received Chinese investment.
Source: http://www.worldshipping.org/about-the-industry/global-trade/top-50-world-container-ports
