Hong Kong loses to another Chinese port city as container volume grows in busier northern rivals
- Port of Qingdao in northern Shandong province has moved more container boxes than Hong Kong in the first 11 months
- Hong Kong recorded a 7.4 per cent drop in November, making it a 22nd straight month of declines in volume
Another Chinese port city has risen in the rankings of the world’s busiest ports in terms of container throughput, while Hong Kong slipped again amid a political and economic crisis.
The port of Qingdao in northern Shandong province handled 19.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the first 11 months of this year, according to the Ministry of Transport. That represents a 9 per cent increase from the same period in 2018.
Hong Kong’s container port moved 16.8 million boxes in the January-to-November period, a 6.2 per cent drop from a year earlier, according to the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Board.
Apart from the five mainland port cities – Shanghai, Shenzhen, Ningbo, Guangzhou, Qingdao – Singapore and Busan in South Korea have also surpassed Hong Kong in terms of container throughput since last year. The city’s position will continue to come under threat as China embarks on yet another massive mission this month.
While the city’s role has diminished in recent years, the slide has worsened amid the crossfire of anti-government protests and US-China trade war. Container throughput has slumped for a 22nd straight month in November, most recently mirroring dwindling exports.