Container volume at eight major Chinese ports 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 surged by 13.3% in the mid-May period.

This shows a sustained improvement in port volumes over the past months with the April 11-20 increase reported at 17.8%.

Export container volume also increased 16.8% according to data from the China Ports and Harbors Association.

The port of Shenzhen recorded a growth increase of over 40% during the time frame, while the port of Tianjin increased was up nearly 60% for domestic container volume.

Cargo throughput at major coastal Chinese ports was also up 5.2% from the rate seen during the same period last year, while the international trade cargo volume also rose by 6.8% — a better performance than the 5.8% year-on-year growth seen in mid-April.

Crude oil shipments at major coastal ports rose by 8.9% after increasing 2.9% in mid-April, while port inventory was also up 11.8% in mid-May.

For the period cargo throughput at the ports of Nanjing, Wuhan, and Chongqing — three major Yangtze river gateways — was up 9.7%. Container volume growth rate also grew 21.9% during the period.

Port of Chongqing is the biggest river port in the southwest of China.