Drewry: Monthly port throughput assessment

Drewry Container Port Throughput Indices are a series of calendar adjusted volume growth/decline indices based on monthly throughput data for a sample of over 340 ports worldwide, representing over 80% of global volumes. The base point for the indices is January 2019 = 100.

Drewry has developed a nowcasting model that uses vessel capacity and terminal duration data (derived from our proprietary AIS model) to make short-term predictions of port throughput.

Drewry’s latest assessment

• Drewry’s Global Container Port Throughput Index increased 3.0% MoM in January, and at 117.8 points was up 8.3% YoY. The rolling 12-month growth rate for global port handling rose slightly to 6.2%. According to Drewry’s Nowcast model, the Global Port Throughput Index is anticipated to have fallen 2.1% MoM in February 2025.
  
• The Greater China Container Port Throughput Index jumped 9.4% MoM to 127.0 points in January 2025, up 7.6% YoY. The major Chinese ports started 2025 with a bang. Throughput at the world’s largest container port- Shanghai - surged 21.3% to a record 5.0 mteu in January, 11.1% higher than last year. Ningbo also saw record volumes, up 22.1% MoM.
  
• The North American Container Port Throughput Index rose 1.2% MoM in January to 112.1 points, up 10.0% YoY with strong growth reported at USWC ports. The European Container Port Throughput Index rose 2.5% in January to 101.9 points, up 9.0% YoY.
  
• The Middle East and South Asia Container Port Throughput Index increased 1.0% in January. Volumes were up 14.0% YoY due to low base- noting that January 2024 was the first month to be heavily impacted by the newly imposed Red Sea diversions. Volumes at Qatar’s Hamad Port were up by more than 20% YoY in January 2025, with strong growth also reported by Mundra (+25.1%), JNPT (+23.2%), Chennai (+23.6%) and Karachi (+23.1%).

* Note that the index figure for Africa is based on a relatively small sample, and so should be viewed with caution
# Index figures for Jan 2025 include some estimates of port throughput data which are subject to subsequent revision