Following the shockwaves through the global supply chain triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, Operational conditions at global ports have improved significantly but they have not lived up to the expectation. 12 of the top 30 ports saw throughput decline rather than rise, according to data shared by Alphaliner. Reaching a total of 454 million TEUs, the less than 1% growth of the 30 leading global container ports in 2022 is considerably lower than that of 2021 (+6.5%). This slight growth is mainly attributed to Asian ports and, to a lesser extent, those in the Middle East. Excluding traffic from Chinese ports, the top 30 would have actually declined by 2%.

The same as 2021, 9 of the Top 10 container ports are located in Asia, and 7 of them are in China. Comparing to 2021, the only ranking change in the Top 10 list was that, the Qingdao port have overtaken the position of Guangzhou Port, becoming the 5th busiest port in the world.

Shanghai continues to consolidate its position as the world's busiest container port, topping the list for the 13th consecutive year and growing for the 13th year in a row. The port never stops its progress towards sustainable development. Suffering from the containers’ shortage amid the global pandemic in 2022, Shanghai Port has officially launched a new empty container transportation center, to accelerate the turnover efficiency of empty containers at port. The new container facility covers an area of 450,000m² and has an annual handling box capacity of 3 million TEU. 

There are widespread declines in volume in many European ports, with only Gioia Tauro and Marseille showing a growth above 2%. PortEconomics also noted that the figures for #Q1 #2023 released so far show further (hefty) year-on-year traffic declines in quite a few ports: Rotterdam -11.6%; Antwerp-Bruges -5.7%; Valencia -10.5%; etc. Most ports, however, expect container volumes to recover somewhat in the second half of 2023. 

1 year after the integration of HAROPA (Le Havre/Rouen/Paris), both French ports (HAROPA & Marseille Port) recorded volume increase among the Top 10 ports in EU. New AMIs have been issued to develop the competitiveness of the transport offering and the volumes being handled.

The philippines' largest, busiest, and most advanced container port, Manila Port, moved up five places and was the port with the biggest change in the Top 30. Beyond the contractual commitments to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) in May 2023, another berth is going to be add to this fast-growing port. When completed, the MICT will have an annual capacity of 3.5 million TEUs, making the MICT the Philippines’ largest international gateway. The full build will give the MICT a total berth length of 2,300 meters, a 21 percent increase in berthing capacity.

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