Throughtput statistics of the Port of Shanghai in 2022 and analysis of the macro aspects

## 1. Year 2022 in numbers [View Shanghai port statistics dashboard](https://www.econdb.com/maritime/ports/CN%20SHA/Shanghai) A total of 19.5 million full TEUs loaded or discharged the Port of Shanghai during 2022, according to our estimates, in a total of 9647 vessel calls. This value comes with two main caveats. - We model movements of full containers. For each net exported full container, there's a matching net imported empty container, barring container inventory changes. Therefore, our statistic undercounts total throughput by around 10 million (given that exports were 14.8 million, and imports were 4.7 million). - We don't have full accountability over small vessels under 1000 TEU capacity. Given the opportunity of the river Yangtze, much of the Port of Shanghai throughput is conducted via small barges to interior cities such as Nanjing, Wuhan or Chongqing. Even if this does not affect outward trade statistics, it introduces a downward bias in total throughput. While the port of Singapore tops our [global throughput ranking](https://www.econdb.com/maritime/ports/), the two factors above are less prone to weigh in the Singapore count, considering it is a transshipment hub, with less domestic trade, and where exports and imports are in balance. ## 2. The macroeconomic environment In 2022, Port of Shanghai successfully waved two large political crisis; the strict Covid lockdowns in China, and the events surrounding the Russian invasion of Donbas. 2022 also was marked by a massive increase in trade across the world, relentless inflation in US and Europe, yet strength in the dollar due to the prospect of rising interest rates. In the table below, the explosive behavior of exports year on year is observed. The table displays nominal exports in dollars and therefore it includes a bump from inflation, besides the changes in volumes.  In the fight against inflation, central banks in US and Europe started tightening monetary policy. A combination of rising inflation, interest rates, and economic slowdown have triggered a fast drop in both exports and imports in these markets. The drop in imports is clearly visible in the [Port of Los Angeles dashboard](https://www.econdb.com/maritime/ports/US%20LAX/Los%20Angeles/), of which the single biggest supplier is China. Despite the drastic drop in US imports, Shanghai has maintained a strong level of exports throughout the end of the year. That's thanks to a leap in Intra Asian trade, which benefits countries like India, Vietnam and Indonesia.   As a result, the port of Shanghai and China in general are forecasted to perform well during 2023. ## 3. Importance of geography Shanghai is the most important port in the world and constitutes the spear of the Made in China engine. It provides sea access to major upstream cities. Chongqing with 32 million inhabitants; Wuhan, with 12 million; Chengdu, with 16 million, Nanjing, with 8.5; and Shanghai itself, with 26. Shanghai port is also barely 150 kilometers away from arguably the second most important port in the world, Ningbo Zhoushan, and only 800 kilometers away from another top 5, Port of Busan in South Korea.  Real time activity dashboards are a valuable gauge of global trade. - [Shanghai port statistics](https://www.econdb.com/maritime/ports/CN%20SHA/Shanghai) - [Ningbo port statistics](https://www.econdb.com/maritime/ports/CN%20NGB/Ningbo/) - [Busan port statistics](https://www.econdb.com/maritime/ports/KR%20PUS/Busan/)