China’s container traffic grows in early September as export orders recover from coronavirus supply chain shock

The slump in China’s worldwide trade showed further signs of recovery in the first two weeks of September as activity at major ports grew despite weaker global demand and the pressure of the relocation of supply chains, according to data from the China Ports & Harbours Association.

In the first 10 days of September, combined international and domestic container traffic at Chinese ports rose 9 per cent from the same period a year earlier, with international activity growing by 16.5 per cent.

In particular, the number of international and domestic containers handled by China’s eight largest ports in Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Tianjin, Xiamen and Dalian rose by 7.4 per cent year on year.

International container traffic at China’s eight largest ports grew by 6.3 per cent, with the rate of growth climbing over 10 per cent at the ports of Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the association said on Sunday.

“The manufacturing industry continues to improve. The August manufacturing [purchasing managers’ index (PMI)] released by the National Bureau of Statistics recently showed that the new order index has rebounded for four consecutive months, of which the new export order index rebounded from the previous month,” said the association.