The accumulation of empty containers is improving! Ports in many places achieved outstanding results in the first quarter

Ports are the "barometer" of foreign trade, and the throughput of many ports has continued to grow this year. In March, the volume of sea-rail intermodal transport at Shanghai Port exceeded the 50,000 TEU mark, setting a new monthly historical high, with a year-on-year increase of 24.7%; the container throughput of SIPG Dushan Company in March increased by 71.7% year-on-year, and the accumulated container throughput in the first quarter The completed container volume is nearly 100,000 TEUs... The accumulation of empty containers in various ports is improving, and the freight rate has begun to rise. Many industry insiders said that the current container circulation is returning to normal, the market shipment volume is gradually recovering, and there are signs of further improvement, and foreign trade is gradually picking up.


The data of many ports in the first quarter is impressive
In the first quarter of 2023, Shanghai Port will complete a container throughput of approximately 11.473 million TEUs. Among them, 4.016 million TEUs were completed in March, showing that Shanghai's foreign trade has achieved steady growth at the beginning, showing strong development resilience. According to relevant sources in Shanghai Nangang, Shanghai Nangang Ro-Ro plans to complete one million vehicles in 2023, and 230,000 vehicles have been completed in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 30.65%. The domestic and foreign trade ratio is 6:4. Among them, Tesla’s single-brand exports exceeded 50,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 22.58%. The export of heavy goods and general goods, and the import of fruit cold chain are all showing an increasing trend.

Not only the port of Shanghai, but also ports around the world have recently reported frequent success.

Data from Tianjin Port Group show that in the first quarter, Tianjin Port completed a cargo throughput of 114 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.71%; containers completed 5.047 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 9.09%, setting a record high in the first quarter throughput.

According to data from the Zhejiang Port and Shipping Management Center, in the first quarter, the transportation and production of Ningbo Zhoushan Port made steady progress, with a cargo throughput of 303 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.4%; a container throughput of 7.91 million TEUs, An increase of 2.9% year-on-year.

With the start of infrastructure projects, the demand for mining construction materials continues to pick up. Zhejiang Seaport Group and Ningbo Zhoushan Port Group are expected to complete 14.776 million tons of mining and construction materials in the first quarter of this year, a year-on-year increase of over 46%, a record high for the same period in history.

The throughput of Lianyungang Port has increased continuously for 3 months. In March, Lianyungang Port completed a cargo throughput of 26.25 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 24.8%. In the first quarter, Lianyungang Port achieved a cumulative cargo throughput of 76.35 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 9.8%; container volume completed 1.459 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 15.5%.

In addition, according to data from the Ministry of Transport, from January to February this year, the national ports have completed a total of 2.419 billion tons of cargo throughput, a year-on-year increase of 2.6%; completed foreign trade cargo throughput of 774 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 5.3%; The container throughput was 44.14 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 1.3%. Compared with the same period in 2022, the container throughput of Beibu Gulf Port, Rizhao Port, Qingdao Port, and Yantai Port has increased significantly, showing a double-digit growth trend.

The accumulation of empty containers has gradually improved
Before, due to the continuous drop in shipping market prices, the decline in export demand, and the excessive delivery of containers, my country's ports have seen empty container accumulations.

Reporters sorted out and found that Shanghai's export container comprehensive freight rate index rose for two consecutive weeks. Last week, the Shanghai Export Container Composite Freight Index was 956.93 points, up 3.6% from the previous period. On April 7, the freight rates (sea freight and sea freight surcharges) for exports from Shanghai Port to the basic port markets of West America and East America were US$1,292/FEU and US$2,147/FEU, respectively, up 12.5% and 6.8% from the previous period. The Ningbo Export Containerized Freight Index, which characterizes the freight rate trend of the container shipping market, showed that as of the week of April 7, the index closed at 683.7 points, a month-on-month increase of 4.3%.

"At present, the circulation of container equipment has returned to normal, and the market shipment volume has gradually recovered, and there are signs of further improvement." Qian Hanglu, an industry analyst at Ningbo Shipping Exchange, said.

Talking about the previous accumulation of empty containers, Qian Hanglu analyzed that: First of all, under the background of poor circulation of container equipment and a large amount of accumulation in overseas ports, container equipment manufacturers have expanded their production capacity. By 2022, the production capacity of newly-built containers will reach about 12 million TEUs, which is about twice that of 2019-2020; secondly, the decrease in purchase orders in major consumer markets such as Europe and the United States has also led to a drop in the global demand for container equipment; finally, due to the The cost of empty container storage is relatively lower than that of overseas ports, and a large number of empty containers are piled up in various ports in China.