China still calls the shots

While we have observed that Southern California ports have gained market share in recent months due to a surge in Asian exports, it is worth noting that the outbound ocean cargo gateways in China are also thriving.

According the Paris-based consultancy, Alphaliner, container traffic through Chinese ports hit an all-time monthly high of 12.44 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in May as that country’s foreign trade jumped by nearly 50 percent from a year ago.

Indeed, the record volume was up 21.9 percent from May 2009 and 16.6 percent higher than the same month in 2008. Six of the top 10 ports booked record volumes, led by Ningbo which reported a 52 percent increase to 1.23 million TEUs. Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Xiamen and Dalian also recorded all time high monthly traffic.

China’s exports rose 48.5 percent in May from a year ago and imports were up 48.3 percent, according to Chinese customs.

Analysts for Alphaliner stated that global container demand growth for 2010 willl hold steady at 11.5 percent, with slower second half growth offsetting the strong performance in the first six months of the year.