Jebel Ali Port has been ranked among the top 10 global ports in the British “Lloyd’s” list, recording a 7.5% growth in container throughput during 2024.

Global container ports have shown remarkable resilience amid geopolitical instability and fluctuating trade dynamics.

Jebel Ali Port saw an increase in throughput thanks to strong growth in trade with Asia and the Indian subcontinent, handling 15.54 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) compared to 14.47 million TEUs in 2023, a 7.5% increase.

The list indicated that the total containers handled by the top 100 ports exceeded 743.6 million TEUs, up 8.1% from 2023, reversing the recession trend of recent years.

Asia maintained its dominance, with Chinese ports alone accounting for more than 40% of global container traffic.

North American terminals, especially along the US East and West coasts and the Gulf, experienced notable growth driven by strong consumer demand and strategic inventory restocking in response to rising trade tensions with China. Emerging markets such as India, Vietnam, and Turkey benefited from supply chain reorganization and regional trade agreements.

China solidified its global leadership in shipping, trade, and global supply chains, completely dominating the top 10 ports by throughput, with six mainland Chinese ports in the top ten. Shanghai Port ranked first globally with 51.5 million containers handled, Singapore Port second with 41.13 million, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port third with 39.3 million, and Shenzhen Port fourth with 33.4 million.

Fifth place went to Qingdao Port with 30.9 million containers, up from 28.8 million, a 7.3% increase.

The northern Chinese port showed huge growth over the past two years but is expected to face challenges keeping pace due to trade fluctuations this year.

Guangzhou Port ranked sixth, experiencing significant development as China’s largest domestic container port, adapting quickly to changing global trade conditions, handling 26.07 million containers compared to 25.4 million, a 2.6% growth.

South Korea entered the top 10 ports list through Busan, with transshipment volume rising 8.8% to 13.5 million TEUs, handling 24.4 million containers compared to 23 million, a 6% increase.

Tianjin Port ranked eighth, located in what is expected to be China’s future economic powerhouse region, with ambitious plans to expand annual capacity to 35 million by 2035. It handled 23.3 million containers, up 5% from 22.2 million.

Jebel Ali Port in Dubai ranked ninth, handling 15.54 million containers compared to 14.7 million, a 7.5% annual increase.

Port Klang in Malaysia ranked tenth, achieving another record year due to geopolitical factors and regional trade within Asia, breaking into the top ten with 14.64 million containers handled, up from 14 million, a 4% annual growth.