Container volume at eight major Chinese ports surged by over 60% during the February 1-20 period after marking one year of the first China lockdowns related to the coronavirus, according to data from the China Ports and Harbors Association. 

Export container volume rose by 65.5% during the period while the domestic container volume was up 43%. Overall, this shows container volume in major Chinese gateways like Port of Shanghai — the world's busiest container port in 2020 — Port of Tianjin, the largest port in Northern China and the main maritime gateway to Beijing, Ningbo-Zhoushan, Xiamen, Guangzhou and Shenzhen increased 73% in early February and 48% by mid-month.

The surge showed a recovery in both manufacturing and demand for exports out of China a year after volumes were impacted by the onset of coronavirus-related lockdowns in the world's biggest manufacturing center.

The data showed that the rate of increase at the Shenzhen port surpassed 100% while the port of Shanghai saw nearly 90% of growth in container volumes during the period.

Cargo throughput at major coastal Chinese ports was also up 24.2% from last year, while the international trade cargo volume also rose by 22.7%.

For the same February 1-20 period, cargo throughput at the ports of Nanjing, Wuhan and Chongqing — three major Yangtze river gateways — was up 30.7% maintaing a double-digit increase from the 40.1% growth seen in January. Port of Chongqing is the biggest river port in the southwest of China.

Meanwhile, container volume at the three ports expanded by 94% year-on-year.