The Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) has reaffirmed its position as the world’s busiest container port for the 16th consecutive year, reporting robust growth in container volumes and steady progress toward becoming a leading global transshipment hub.
Announcing its final operational figures for 2025, SIPG said the Shanghai port complex handled 55.06 million TEU, marking a 6.9 percent year-on-year increase. Total cargo throughput reached 600 million tonnes, up just over 3 percent from 580 million tonnes in 2024.
The Yangshan Deep Water Port continued to be a key growth driver, accounting for more than half of Shanghai’s total container throughput. Volumes at Yangshan rose by over 10 percent, while the Yangshan Phase III Terminal crossed the 10 million TEU milestone for the first time, underscoring its status as a core pillar of the port complex—an achievement matched by only a handful of ports worldwide.
A major strategic priority for SIPG remains the expansion of its international transshipment business. Transshipment volumes exceeded 7.9 million TEU in 2025, up 10.6 percent year-on-year. SIPG attributed the growth to improved water-to-water transshipment services and enhanced operational efficiency, reinforcing Shanghai’s role as a global container hub.
SIPG said the performance highlights the port’s “resilience and stability as a critical node in the global supply chain,” despite a challenging operating environment. The group cited volatile global trade conditions, geopolitical tensions, accelerating supply-chain restructuring, extreme weather events, and peak-season congestion as key challenges during the year. Strategic collaboration with shipping lines and improved resource utilization helped mitigate these pressures.
Technology continues to play a central role in Shanghai’s port operations. SIPG highlighted the expansion of automated terminals, the use of digital twins and big data analytics to boost quay crane productivity, and AI-based stowage models and smart yard systems that significantly reduced re-stowage rates—an approach the company described as reflecting “China speed.”
Intermodal connectivity also recorded strong gains, with sea-rail intermodal volumes surpassing 1 million TEU for the first time, registering growth of just over 16 percent year-on-year.
Looking ahead, SIPG said it will focus on strengthening hub resilience and increasing the share of international transshipment cargo. Planned initiatives include accelerating major infrastructure development, optimizing port layout, enhancing container-handling capacity, and improving vessel berthing efficiency.
“With a strategic focus on international transshipment, SIPG will further expand global shipping networks, cabotage operations, and water-to-water transshipment services, consolidating its position as a core international transshipment hub in Northeast Asia,” the company said in its 2025 report.
