Source: data collected from port authorities and regional port associations. Only consider ports with traffic above 500,000 TEU in 2020.
The world container port system is characterized by a high level of traffic concentration, with the 25 largest container ports handling more than 49.8% of global traffic in 2020. The world’s largest container ports underline the intricate relationships between export-oriented ports (e.g. Shanghai and Hong Kong), import-oriented ports (e.g. Los Angeles / Long Beach), and intermediary hubs (e.g. Singapore and Dubai). There is also an emerging geography of container ports involving a specialization between container ports acting as gateways and intermediate hubs. Gateway ports command access to large manufacturing or market regions and are the spearhead of long-distance corridors. Hong Kong, Los Angeles, and Rotterdam are notable examples of ports that command access to a vast and complex hinterland. Intermediate hub ports (or offshore hubs) act as intermediary locations where containers are transshipped between different segments of the global maritime transport system in a manner similar to hubs in air transportation. Singapore and Dubai are among the most prominent transshipment hubs, each servicing a specific transshipment market (Southeast Asian and the Middle East / South Asia, respectively).
The recent changes in containerized traffic reflect the shifting commercial dynamics in the global economy. North American ports have experienced limited changes, partly due to peaking consumption levels, with port demand substantially impacted by the recession of 2008-10. By 2015, container traffic volumes were barely back to their 2008 levels. Japanese ports experienced significant growth in the 1970s and 1980s, supplemented by Korean and Taiwanese ports in the 1990s. The most significant recent growth dynamic took place along the Chinese coast, where during the 2000s, the export-oriented process was in full gear. Ports of the northern European range, mostly Antwerp and Rotterdam, have grown partly due to extensive hinterland accessibility deep inside Europe. There is also a “transshipment belt” ranging from the Strait of Malacca to the Strait of Gibraltar that has experienced notable traffic growth. It particularly concerns Singapore, Dubai, the outlet of the Suez Canal (e.g. Port Said), and the Strait of Gibraltar (Tangier Med, Algeciras, and Valencia). South American ports are also actively growing through economic growth (strengthening of the hinterland) and transshipment (Panama, Cartagena, Callao).