Connect with us

China

Visualizing Global Shipping Container Traffic

Published

on

Shipping container traffic

Visualizing Global Shipping Container Traffic

Globalization owes a lot to the humble shipping container.

In the distant past, loading a ship was a complicated affair involving pallets, crates, and winches. This process was labor-intensive and expensive, meaning most goods were simply not worth shipping overseas.

In the 1970s, the standardized shipping container solved this problem on a wide scale and turned the world economy on its head. This standardization drove the cost of shipping down as the efficiency of ports skyrocketed. Modern ports can now move upwards of 70 containers per crane per hour.

It doesnโ€™t matter anymore where you produce something now, because transport costs arenโ€™t important.

โ€“ Rainer Horn, Hapag-Lloyd

Made in China

With the barrier of shipping costs effectively removed, production began to migrate to countries with cheaper production costs.

China is at the center of this new paradigm: nearly one-third of all global containers move through Chinese ports, and seven of the top 10 ports in the world are all located in China.

Countries Moving the Most Units

Here are the 50 countries with the most 20-foot containers passing through their ports:

RankCountry20-Foot Container Count (2017)
1China (inc. H.K.)234,489,920
2United States51,425,464
3Singapore33,600,000
4South Korea27,427,000
5Malaysia24,719,000
6Japan21,904,444
7U.A.E.21,280,900
8Germany19,447,600
9Spain17,065,000
10Netherlands13,951,000
11Indonesia13,859,500
12India13,259,000
13Vietnam12,284,395
14Belgium11,857,009
15Thailand10,732,000
16Italy10,698,030
17United Kingdom10,530,328
18Brazil10,049,282
19Turkey9,927,385
20Saudi Arabia8,404,000
21Philippines8,196,961
22Australia7,693,643
23Egypt7,430,000
24Panama6,900,000
25France6,714,551
26Mexico6,305,000
27Canada6,298,590
28Sri Lanka6,000,000
29Oman4,784,712
30South Africa4,634,900
31Morocco4,570,000
32Russia4,515,000
33Greece4,461,000
34Chile4,189,669
35Colombia3,444,503
36New Zealand3,227,100
37Portugal3,220,100
38Malta3,203,000
39Iran3,091,000
40Pakistan2,985,600
41Israel2,865,028
42Bangladesh2,587,000
43Poland2,459,900
44Peru2,368,989
45Ecuador1,944,135
46Finland1,920,800
47Argentina1,750,102
48Jamaica1,689,000
49Nigeria1,656,000
50Sweden1,593,450

Asian countries dominate shipping container traffic, taking up four of the top five spots. Singapore, with a population of just 5.4 million, moved nearly 34 million 20-foot containers in 2017. That’s more than Italy, France, Russia, Sweden, and the U.K. combined.

The United States is still the number two country in the world in terms of the number of containers handled. Two massive ports in Los Angeles control over a quarter of the North American market share, and the Port of New York & New Jersey is the largest on the Eastern Seaboard.

The Stack Keeps Growing

Except for a brief slip in 2009, the number of containers moving through ports has increased every year this millennium so far.

Global container shipping chart

In spite of the recent volley of tariff actions, there appears to be smooth sailing ahead for the growth of containerized shipping.

Subscribe to Visual Capitalist
Click for Comments

China

Ranked: The Cities with the Most Skyscrapers in 2023

We rank the world’s leading cities with the most skyscrapers, highlighting China’s remarkable dominance in building vertically.

Published

on

Ranked: The Cities with the Most Skyscrapers in 2023

When it comes to soaring skylines and architectural marvels, no country has embraced the vertical revolution quite like China.

In this graphic, which uses data from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), we reveal the 25 cities with the most skyscrapers and supertall buildings globally.

Unsurprisingly, China’s cities dominate the list, solidifying the country’s reputation as a global powerhouse of tall buildings.

The 25 Top Cities by Skyscraper Count

Topping the charts is Hong Kong, with an impressive 657 skyscrapers, including six supertalls (buildings over 300 meters tall).

RankCityCountrySkyscrapers (>150m)Supertalls (>300m)
1Hong Kong๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China6576
2Shenzhen๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China51316
3New York City๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States42116
4Dubai๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ช United Arab Emirates39528
5Guangzhou๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China25411
6Shanghai๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China2505
7Kuala Lumpur๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡พ Malaysia2115
8Chongqing๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China2055
9Tokyo๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan2000
10Wuhan๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China1835
11Chicago๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States1787
12Jakarta๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Indonesia1601
13Chengdu๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China1500
14Bangkok๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญ Thailand1333
15Shenyang๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China1293
16Singapore๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Singapore1280
17Nanning๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China1226
18Mumbai๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India1140
19Tianjin๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China1093
20Nanjing๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China1087
21Toronto๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Canada1060
22Busan๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea1064
23Seoul๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea1042
24Changsha๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China975
25Melbourne๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Australia941

Hong Kong, along with Shenzhen (#2), and Guangzhou (#5) are part of the burgeoning megacity known as the Pearl River Delta, which is home to over 1,500 skyscrapers. This is even more impressive when considering that Shenzhen was a small fishing village until the 1970s.

New York City secures the third position on the list, boasting an impressive tally of 421 skyscrapers. Although it may have relinquished its title to Chinese cities, the city’s skyline endures as a globally renowned symbol, prominently featuring the iconic Empire State Building. Notably, while the Empire State Building enjoys widespread familiarity, it no longer ranks among the world’s 50 tallest structures.

Rounding out the top five is Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, which grabs the fourth position with 395 skyscrapers, a staggering 28 of which are supertalls. This desert oasis has become synonymous with grandiose architecture and record-breaking structures, exemplified by the Burj Khalifa, which is the world’s current tallest building at 828 meters (2,715 ft).

China’s Numbers in Context

Looking at this data from another perspective, China actually has more skyscrapers on this list than the rest of the world combined.

CountryCities in Top 25SkyscrapersSupertalls
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China12277772
๐ŸŒ Rest of World13235067

China’s rapid urbanization, economic growth, and ambitious construction projects have fueled this impressive feat. There’s no doubt that the country’s relentless pursuit of vertical development, coupled with its booming population and thriving cities, has positioned China as the unrivaled leader in the global skyscraper race.

The Future of the Global Skyline

As the world continues to reach new heights in architectural marvels, there are even more supertall skyscrapers in the pipeline that will reshape skylines across the globe.

From the soaring Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, poised to surpass the Burj Khalifa as the world’s tallest building, to the remarkable Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur, which is set to claim the title of the world’s second-tallest structure when it opens in June 2023, these projects will captivate city dwellers for years to come.

Even as these new monumental buildings rise, China’s prominence in the world of skyscrapersโ€”with three cities in the top five globallyโ€”is likely to remain unchallenged.

Continue Reading

Subscribe

Popular