The container throughput of Chinese ports reached 43.6 million TEU during the first two months of the year, which translates to a 2.9% increase over the corresponding period of 2021.

Additionally, the overall cargo volume of Chinese ports reached 2,358.1 million tons during the same period, representing a year-on-year increase of 2.7%.

The chart below shows the cargo throughput and container throughput data of the twelve major ports in China, with the Port of Dalian registering the largest year-on-year increase of 27.7% in container throughput, to 620,000 TEU.

Meanwhile, the Port of Shanghai has handled the largest number of containers during the January-February period, completing 8.16 million TEU.

In terms of container freight rates, the average value of the Ningbo Container Freight index (NCFI) in March was quoted at 3,718.5 points, having a decrease of 8.1% compared to last month. During March, there was reportedly slight ease of port congestion for the US west coastal ports.

The average space utilisation rate of ships from Ningbo Zhoushan Port to the US West and US East routes is almost at full load, according to a statement, and the freight rate remains at a high point.

The average freight rate of a 40′ general-purpose container from Ningbo Port to the ports of Los Angeles and New York and New Jersey in February increased by 1.7% and 3.2% month-on-month, to US$8,475 and US$10,378, respectively.