Fewer containers transshipped in 2022

Research by London-based consultancy Drewry’s Port Throughput Indices found that 8% fewer containers were transhipped at European ports in 2022 compared to 2021. This was due to several disruptions including the war in Ukraine and related sanctions against Russia, but inflation and labour disputes also played a role. With the global decline being 0.7%, China’s transhipment was the only one to grow in 2022. Indexes for container throughput at the world’s major ports are tracked on a monthly and annual basis by Drewry.

In 2022, the European market was mainly affected by disruptions and Drewry does not see a rebound in the figures for now. December 2022 was quiet globally in terms of container throughput, China had 6% less throughput while the rest of 2022 saw growth of 8.1% there. The Hong Kong port was the only one to have a decline of around 7% compared to 2021. The bizarre winter weather in North America had a major impact on the December 2022 throughput figures. For example, Vancouver had a 24.9% drop compared to November 2022, however, overall figures for the west coast of the US and Canada in all of 2022 were about 11.4% lower than 2021.