Drewry, a leading international provider of research and consulting services to the maritime and shipping industry, highlighted minimal changes from the previous month, with Latin America leading the growth at 11.3% year-to-date, closely followed by North America at 11.1%. According to Drewry’s Nowcast model, the Global Port Throughput Index is expected to have risen by 1.6% month-on-month in December, reaching 118.0 points.,
Major ports across China, including Shanghai, Ningbo, and Qingdao, experienced congestion due to the pre-holiday cargo rush and weather issues, contributing to high yard utilization.
The Greater China Container Port Throughput Index increased by 4.0% month-on-month to 120.8 points in November, up 3.1% year-on-year. On an annual comparison, volumes at Ningbo and Tianjin were significantly higher than in 2023, with increases of 14.4% and 27.3%, respectively.
Drewry reported that the North American Container Port Throughput Index rose by 3.2% month-on-month in November to 116.4 points, a 12.7% increase year-on-year.
The rolling 12-month growth rate surged to 10.4%, nearly double the global growth rate of 5.6%. West Coast ports continued to attract significant volumes in November compared to the previous year, except for strike-affected Vancouver, where volumes dropped by 17% month-on-month.
The European Container Port Throughput Index fell by 2.5% in November to 101.9 points but remained up 6.4% year-on-year.
Notably, Europe’s rolling 12-month growth rate improved to 4.5%, the closest it has been to the global average in over two years. Notably, the growth gap between sub-regions reversed in November, with North Europe’s rolling 12-month average growth rate at 5.2%, surpassing South Europe’s 3.7% for the first time in over two years.
