Markets

Visualizing the World’s Busiest Ports

Published

5 years ago

January 14, 2019

Nick Routley

The World's Busiest Ports

The World’s Busiest Ports

An estimated 90% of world trade is facilitated by maritime shipping, and as trade volumes continue to increase, the world’s busiest ports continue to grow larger and more efficient to meet demand.

In fact, in just the last four years, the median annual volume of the top 50 ports jumped from 5.49 to 5.86 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

Here are the world’s 20 largest ports, using the most recent data from the World Shipping Council:

Rank	Port Name	Country	2016 Volume	2012 Volume	4-Year Change
1	Shanghai	🇨🇳 China	37.1	32.5	+14%
2	Singapore	🇸🇬 Singapore	30.9	31.7	-2%
3	Shenzhen	🇨🇳 China	24.0	22.9	+5%
4	Ningbo-Zhoushan	🇨🇳 China	21.6	16.8	+28%
5	Busan	🇰🇷 S. Korea	19.9	17.0	+17%
6	Hong Kong	🇭🇰 China	19.8	23.1	-14%
7	Guangzhou Harbor	🇨🇳 China	18.9	14.7	+28%
8	Qingdao	🇨🇳 China	18.0	14.5	+24%
9	Jebel Ali	🇦🇪 U.A.E.	15.7	13.3	+18%
10	Tianjin	🇨🇳 China	14.5	12.3	+18%
11	Port Klang	🇲🇾 Malaysia	13.2	10.0	+32%
12	Rotterdam	🇳🇱 Netherlands	12.4	11.9	+4%
13	Kaohsiung	🇹🇼 Taiwan	10.5	9.8	+7%
14	Antwerp	🇧🇪 Belgium	10.0	8.6	+16%
15	Dalian	🇨🇳 China	9.6	8.9	+8%
16	Xiamen	🇨🇳 China	9.6	7.2	+34%
17	Hamburg	🇩🇪 Germany	8.91	8.89	0%
18	Los Angeles	🇺🇸 U.S.A.	8.9	8.1	+10%
19	Tanjung Pelepas	🇲🇾 Malaysia	8.3	7.7	+8%
20	Keihin	🇯🇵 Japan	7.6	7.9	-3%

Volume is measured in millions of TEUs

Only five of the top 20 ports in the world are now located outside of East Asia. The Port of Los Angeles is the only U.S. entrant in the top 20, and only three European ports made the cut.

Today, trade is more likely than ever to flow through the South China Sea.

Ruling the High Seas

From dollar store knick-knacks to nuclear reactor components, China’s manufacturing output is a critical link in the global supply chain. Getting all those products to consumers and companies around the world is big business, and over the past decade, China has emerged as the heavyweight champion of world shipping.

While Danish company, Maersk, is still the largest shipping line, an ever increasing share of the world’s container traffic is moving through Chinese controlled ports. An estimated two-thirds of container traffic now passes through Chinese ports or ports that have received Chinese investment.

New Kids on the Block

While shipping volumes on a global basis continue to rise, not all of that growth has been spread around equally. This is particularly true for established titans of the South China Sea.

At the outset of this millennium, Hong Kong and Singapore were home to the busiest ports in the world. Today, both are facing increased competition from neighboring ports, as well as declining volumes:

south china sea ports

In contrast, the massive Port of Shanghai saw a 71% increase over the last decade, and many other Chinese ports has seen significant growth in volume in recent years.

If China’s One Belt One Road initiatives and investments in global port facilities are any indication, the country’s domination of maritime shipping will only continue to strengthen in the near term.

Related Topics:logistics shipping trade container shipping ports

Up Next

Animation: The Entire History of Tesla in 5 Minutes

Don't Miss

The Jeff Bezos Empire in One Giant Chart

Click for Comments

Markets

The European Stock Market: Attractive Valuations Offer Opportunities

On average, the European stock market has valuations that are nearly 50% lower than U.S. valuations. But how can you access the market?

Graphics & Design

Alejandra Dander

An infographic showing that compared to North American and Asian stocks, the European stock market has lower or comparable valuations and low-to-moderate correlation.

European Stock Market: Attractive Valuations Offer Opportunities

Europe is known for some established brands, from L’Oréal to Louis Vuitton. However, the European stock market offers additional opportunities that may be lesser known.

The above infographic, sponsored by STOXX, outlines why investors may want to consider European stocks.

Attractive Valuations

Compared to most North American and Asian markets, European stocks offer lower or comparable valuations.

Index	Price-to-Earnings Ratio	Price-to-Book Ratio
EURO STOXX 50	14.9	2.2
STOXX Europe 600	14.4	2
U.S.	25.9	4.7
Canada	16.1	1.8
Japan	15.4	1.6
Asia Pacific ex. China	17.1	1.8

Data as of February 29, 2024. See graphic for full index names. Ratios based on trailing 12 month financials. The price to earnings ratio excludes companies with negative earnings.

On average, European valuations are nearly 50% lower than U.S. valuations, potentially offering an affordable entry point for investors.

Research also shows that lower price ratios have historically led to higher long-term returns.

Market Movements Not Closely Connected

Over the last decade, the European stock market had low-to-moderate correlation with North American and Asian equities.

The below chart shows correlations from February 2014 to February 2024. A value closer to zero indicates low correlation, while a value of one would indicate that two regions are moving in perfect unison.

	EURO STOXX 50	STOXX EUROPE 600	U.S.	Canada	Japan	Asia Pacific ex. China
EURO STOXX 50	1.00	0.97	0.55	0.67	0.24	0.43
STOXX EUROPE 600		1.00	0.56	0.71	0.28	0.48
U.S.			1.00	0.73	0.12	0.25
Canada				1.00	0.22	0.40
Japan					1.00	0.88
Asia Pacific ex. China						1.00

Data is based on daily USD returns.

European equities had relatively independent market movements from North American and Asian markets. One contributing factor could be the differing sector weights in each market. For instance, technology makes up a quarter of the U.S. market, but health care and industrials dominate the broader European market.

Ultimately, European equities can enhance portfolio diversification and have the potential to mitigate risk for investors.

Tracking the Market

For investors interested in European equities, STOXX offers a variety of flagship indices:

Index	Description	Market Cap
STOXX Europe 600	Pan-regional, broad market	€10.5T
STOXX Developed Europe	Pan-regional, broad-market	€9.9T
STOXX Europe 600 ESG-X	Pan-regional, broad market, sustainability focus	€9.7T
STOXX Europe 50	Pan-regional, blue-chip	€5.1T
EURO STOXX 50	Eurozone, blue-chip	€3.5T

Data is as of February 29, 2024. Market cap is free float, which represents the shares that are readily available for public trading on stock exchanges.

The EURO STOXX 50 tracks the Eurozone’s biggest and most traded companies. It also underlies one of the world’s largest ranges of ETFs and mutual funds. As of November 2023, there were €27.3 billion in ETFs and €23.5B in mutual fund assets under management tracking the index.

“For the past 25 years, the EURO STOXX 50 has served as an accurate, reliable and tradable representation of the Eurozone equity market.”
— Axel Lomholt, General Manager at STOXX

Partnering with STOXX to Track the European Stock Market

Are you interested in European equities? STOXX can be a valuable partner:

Comprehensive, liquid and investable ecosystem
European heritage, global reach
Highly sophisticated customization capabilities
Open architecture approach to using data
Close partnerships with clients
Part of ISS STOXX and Deutsche Börse Group

With a full suite of indices, STOXX can help you benchmark against the European stock market.

Learn how STOXX’s European indices offer liquid and effective market access.

Click for Comments

Economy2 days ago

Economic Growth Forecasts for G7 and BRICS Countries in 2024

The IMF has released its economic growth forecasts for 2024. How do the G7 and BRICS countries compare?
Markets1 week ago

U.S. Debt Interest Payments Reach $1 Trillion

U.S. debt interest payments have surged past the $1 trillion dollar mark, amid high interest rates and an ever-expanding debt burden.
United States2 weeks ago

Ranked: The Largest U.S. Corporations by Number of Employees

We visualized the top U.S. companies by employees, revealing the massive scale of retailers like Walmart, Target, and Home Depot.
Markets2 weeks ago

The Top 10 States by Real GDP Growth in 2023

This graphic shows the states with the highest real GDP growth rate in 2023, largely propelled by the oil and gas boom.
Markets2 weeks ago

Ranked: The World’s Top Flight Routes, by Revenue

In this graphic, we show the highest earning flight routes globally as air travel continued to rebound in 2023.
Markets2 weeks ago

Ranked: The Most Valuable Housing Markets in America

The U.S. residential real estate market is worth a staggering $47.5 trillion. Here are the most valuable housing markets in the country.