Shanghai unseats Singapore

The official news is out –
Shanghai in 2010 overtook
long time number one
container port Singapore,
with a mere 650 000 TEUs
separating the world’s two
top performers.
Figures from the
Shanghai International
Port Group Company
show that the port handled
29.05-million TEUs in
2010, up 16.2% from the
25-m TEUs it handled in
2009.
Meanwhile, figures from
the Maritime and Port
Authority of Singapore
(MPA) pegged Singapore’s
total container throughput
at 28.4-m TEUs in 2010, up
9.7% from 25.9-m in 2009.
“The economic recovery
and the boost from the
World Expo helped the
city’s container and
cargo throughput,” said
Shanghai’s city officials.
Shanghai’s cargo
throughput in 2010 totalled
650-million tonnes (mt),
10.2% more than the 590-
mt of cargo in 2009.
Singapore, meanwhile,
reported a 6.4% increase in
cargo throughput in 2010 to
502.5-mt.
Shanghai’s container
turnover first surpassed
Singapore’s level in August
after it reported a 20.7%
increase in container
volume for the month
compared to a 4% dip
in Singapore’s container
volume during the same
period.
Meanwhile, plans are
under way to turn Shanghai
into an international
shipping hub by 2020.
Measures include trial
programmes for business
tax exemption for shipping
companies, incentives for
setting up a ship trading
brokerage system and
encouraging partnerships
between insurance
companies and shipping
enterprises, according to
the city government.
The viewpoint from
Singapore-based Jason
Chiang, a consultant with
Drewry Maritime Services
(Asia), on the new number
one is that: “China’s growth
is driven by demand for
exports while Singapore is
a transhipment hub. Less
than 20% (of container
throughput) handled in
Singapore enters or leaves
the port inland.
“We’re battling for a
different piece of the pie,”
he explained.