China’s Container Trade Surges as Two Ports Set New Records

Despite a year of turbulent trade policies and interruptions, China’s container volumes are continuing to surge. Two of the country’s largest port complexes have set new records after just 11 months, combined handling over 90 million boxes so far in 2025.

The Port of Shanghai, which highlights that it has maintained the top global ranking for 16 years, has once again surpassed the 50 million TEU threshold. It is the second consecutive year the port complex reached these levels, but officials point out the port is about a month ahead of last year’s levels. The 50 millionth container moved through the port on November 26.

Port officials did not release a forecast for the full year. But even with December typically being a slower month, the port has been averaging over 4 million TEU a month this year. For 2024, the port said it had set a record at 51.5 million TEU, which looks like they will exceed this year.

The management of the port highlights that they continue to invest in the operations and that the focus has moved from expanding the physical assets to restructuring the entire operational landscape. They highlight that it has been critical to help maintain the growth and become more important for the future.

Instead of operating as isolated terminals, they say the port operates more like a single, synchronized site. The main port is highly automated, and they are working to integrate the operations with the legacy terminals upriver.

Technology plays a critical role, with the complex using remote-controlled cranes, unnamed yard vehicles, and AI-driven planning tools. They point to an integrated port management and control system that acts as the central nervous system, allocating equipment, sequencing operations, and balancing capacity in real time. Systems including digital twins, high-precision positioning, and F5G networks have all become part of the daily operations, with AI supervision overseeing what once took layers of human intervention.

Ningbo-Zhoushan marked its first 40 million TEU mark on December 2 (Port Authority)

Equally impressive is the dramatic growth in the Ningo-Zhoushan Port in eastern China. On December 2, the port handled its 40 millionth TEU in 2025. It was the first time the port had reached this level. For all of 2024, the complex handled approximately 39.3 million TEUs.

Officials highlight that the port’s rate of growth continues to accelerate. A relative newcomer to the industry compared to established ports such as Shanghai, the complex took seven years to grow from 10 to 20 million TEU and another six years to reach 30 million TEU. It reached 40 million TEU in just four years, and they assert that based on total cargo tonnage, it is the only port to handle more than 1 billion tonnes annually for 16 consecutive years.

The Ningbo-Zhoushand port complex is now linked, they said, to more than 300 container shipping routes with 600 ports in 200 countries and regions. It now operates over 210 berths for ships above 10,000 tons, and that includes 135 berths for vessels over 50,000 tonnes.