Ningbo-Zhoushan Overtakes Singapore as Second Busiest Box Port
China now holds six of the world's ten largest container ports by volume
The Ningbo-Zhoushan port complex has edged out Singapore for the position of the world's second busiest container port, and China now holds six of the top ten ports by volume.
Ningbo-Zhoushan is growing at nearly twice the rate of Singapore, with 8.8 percent throughput growth in the first half of the year against 4.7 percent for Singapore, according to Alphaliner's Top-30 chart for global port throughput. Both ports showed slowing growth rates against 2025, but Ningbo-Zhoushan finished ahead by 158,310 TEU. It ended 2025 only about 800,000 TEU behind Singapore.
Officials at the Zhejiang Provincial Seaport Group and Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Group said they had fully implemented plans to strengthen work style and efficiency. The two ports are expected to remain in a close race for the remainder of the year.
Shanghai remains firmly at the top of the list at more than 28.7 million TEU. Last year the port broke the 55 million TEU mark for the first time, with officials pointing to efficiency gains from increasing automation. In July, recovering from the impact of a typhoon, Shanghai reported a single-day record of nearly 204,000 TEU.
Shenzhen, Qingdao, Guangzhou and Tianjin were also among the ten busiest container ports in the first half. Tianjin's growth helped it edge out Busan by nearly 400,000 TEU over the six months, moving up one place to seventh.
The half-year data shows the widespread impact of geopolitical trends on the global container market, according to Alphaliner. The most significant drops were in the Middle East, where the war and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz sharply affected Dubai's Jebel Ali and Abu Dhabi's Khalifa Seaport. Jebel Ali's volumes fell more than 90 percent to just 374,000 TEU for the second quarter, and to 3.14 million TEU for the six months, down 23 percent. Jebel Ali consequently dropped out of the top 30 to 32nd place, and Khalifa Seaport also fell out of the top 50.
Most other global ports held their position or moved a single place. Los Angeles and Long Beach combined came in again at ninth, handling just under 10 million TEU in the first half and remaining the only US entry in the top ten. New York and New Jersey fell one place to 22nd, handling 4.4 million TEU, relatively stable against 2025.
