When it comes to ports, Asia is king. Asian ports were once again strong performers overall in the 2013 list of top container ports, accounting for the nine of the top ten ranking ports and almost half (26) of the top 50 slots, according to a new report.
The JOC’s annual report on the Top 50 World Container Ports, shows the Middle East’s largest container port, DP World’s Jebel Ali in Dubai, ranked ninth, was the only container port to break up the Asian monopoly.
With the exception of one port, the top 50 looks the same as last year, with the only new entrant being Malta Freeport in Marsaxlokk, Malta. The port’s container volume rose 8.3% to 2.8 million TEUs in 2013.
Commenting on the results, JOC research editor Marsh Salisbury said: “For the first six years of The Journal of Commerce global container ports ranking, Hong Kong was king.
“When Singapore toppled Hong Kong in 2005, it began a five-year run at the top for the Southeast Asian giant. And now another juggernaut, Shanghai, has enjoyed a four-year run as the world’s largest container port on the JOC ranking, now in its 15th year.
“The common thread? Asia is king, even if stalwarts such as Hong Kong, which slipped to fourth place last year in part because of a 40-day dockworker strike at five terminals, have retreated a bit.
“The list of the world’s top 50 container ports offers a glimpse of trading and sourcing patterns, as well as the role infrastructure plays in port productivity and competitiveness.”
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