Which port handled the most container traffic worldwide in 2023?

The Port of Shanghai handled the most container traffic worldwide in 2023.

Located at the mouth of the Yangtze River in China, the Port of Shanghai is a major gateway for the country’s manufacturing centers and for trade serving the Yangtze River Delta. Its facilities include the deep-water Yangshan Port, which is connected to the mainland by the Donghai Bridge.

Shanghai handled more than 49 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2023, keeping its position as the world’s busiest container port by throughput. A TEU is a standard measure based on the capacity of a 20-foot shipping container.

Singapore, Ningbo-Zhoushan and Shenzhen also rank among the world’s largest container ports. Port rankings measure container throughput, not necessarily total cargo weight, land area or the value of goods handled. Those different measures can produce different comparisons.