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The World’s Largest Shipping Hubs

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2 years ago

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World's Largest Shipping Hubs infographic

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The Briefing

  • The world’s 10 largest shipping hubs shipped 250 million TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units) in 2019
  • The Asia-Pacific dominates the landscape with 9 out of 10 shipping hubs located in that region

The World’s Largest Shipping Hubs (2005-2019)

As consumers, we often overlook the complexity and sheer size of global trade that is behind the goods and services we consume everyday.

Trade accounts for roughly 60% of global GDP—and emerging markets, particularly in the Asia Pacific region, have trade to thank in part for their economic growth in recent times.

When it comes to the movement of all these goods, shipping hubs are a crucial component of the trade ecosystem. The following data looks at the 10 largest global shipping hubs and their changes in throughput over time.

The 10 Largest Shipping Hubs (2005-2019, Thousands of TEUs)

Rank2005201020152019
1Singapore:
23,192		Shanghai:
29,069		Shanghai:
36,537		Shanghai:
43,303
2Hong Kong:
22,602		Singapore:
28,431		Singapore:
30,922		Singapore:
37,196
3Shanghai:
18,084		Hong Kong:
23,699		Shenzhen:
24,205		Ningbo-Zhoushan:
27,535
4Shenzhen:
16,197		Shenzhen:
22,510		Ningbo-Zhoushan:
20,627		Shenzhen:
25,769
5Busan:
11,843		Busan:
14,194		Hong Kong:
20,073		Guangzhou:
23,223
6Kaohsiung:
9,471		Ningbo-Zhoushan:
13,147		Busan:
19,469		Busan:
21,992
7Rotterdam:
9,288		Guangzhou:
12,546		Guangzhou:
17,625		Qingdao:
21,012
8Hamburg:
8,088		Qingdao:
12,012		Qingdao:
17,436		Hong Kong:
18,303
9Dubai:
7,619		Dubai:
11,600		Dubai:
15,592		Tianjin:
17,301
10Los Angeles:
7,485		Rotterdam:
11,148		Tianjin:
14,111		Rotterdam:
14,811

One of the biggest changes in recent years is the addition of the Yangshan Port in Shanghai. This massive port has already undergone four expansion phases since it opened in 2005.

Also noteworthy is Hong Kong’s falling position in this ranking. Only a decade ago, Hong Kong was the third-busiest port in the world. Today, facing fierce competition from nearby port facilities, Hong Kong sits in eighth place.

The Global Trade Machine

Trade and the transportation of goods and services are a fundamental component of the $88 trillion global economy. The value of all exports in 2019 was $24.9 trillion.

The Chinese economy continues to show immense strength, and the country is now the top trading partner of 128 countries around the world. China exported $2.6 trillion worth of goods last year, representing 18% of GDP and making them the largest exporter in the world. This economic prowess is also expressed through their enormous shipping hubs – 70% of the TEUs from the top 10 flow through China.

The aggregate volume of goods and services that move between the worlds largest shipping hubs has risen in relation to global trade figures over time, from 212 million TEUs in 2014 to 250 million in 2019.

Where does this data come from?

Source: Marine Department of Hong Kong
Notes: Latest data is as of 2019

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Economy

Charted: Public Trust in the Federal Reserve

Public trust in the Federal Reserve chair has hit its lowest point in 20 years. Get the details in this infographic.

Published

6 days ago

on

May 23, 2023

By

The Briefing

  • Gallup conducts an annual poll to gauge the U.S. public’s trust in the Federal Reserve
  • After rising during the COVID-19 pandemic, public trust has fallen to a 20-year low

 

Charted: Public Trust in the Federal Reserve

Each year, Gallup conducts a survey of American adults on various economic topics, including the country’s central bank, the Federal Reserve.

More specifically, respondents are asked how much confidence they have in the current Fed chairman to do or recommend the right thing for the U.S. economy. We’ve visualized these results from 2001 to 2023 to see how confidence levels have changed over time.

Methodology and Results

The data used in this infographic is also listed in the table below. Percentages reflect the share of respondents that have either a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence.

YearFed chair% Great deal or Fair amount
2023Jerome Powell36%
2022Jerome Powell43%
2021Jerome Powell55%
2020Jerome Powell58%
2019Jerome Powell50%
2018Jerome Powell45%
2017Janet Yellen45%
2016Janet Yellen38%
2015Janet Yellen42%
2014Janet Yellen37%
2013Ben Bernanke42%
2012Ben Bernanke39%
2011Ben Bernanke41%
2010Ben Bernanke44%
2009Ben Bernanke49%
2008Ben Bernanke47%
2007Ben Bernanke50%
2006Ben Bernanke41%
2005Alan Greenspan56%
2004Alan Greenspan61%
2003Alan Greenspan65%
2002Alan Greenspan69%
2001Alan Greenspan74%

Data for 2023 collected April 3-25, with this statement put to respondents: “Please tell me how much confidence you have [in the Fed chair] to recommend the right thing for the economy.”

We can see that trust in the Federal Reserve has fluctuated significantly in recent years.

For example, under Alan Greenspan, trust was initially high due to the relative stability of the economy. The burst of the dotcom bubble—which some attribute to Greenspan’s easy credit policies—resulted in a sharp decline.

On the flip side, public confidence spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was likely due to Jerome Powell’s decisive actions to provide support to the U.S. economy throughout the crisis.

Measures implemented by the Fed include bringing interest rates to near zero, quantitative easing (buying government bonds with newly-printed money), and emergency lending programs to businesses.

Confidence Now on the Decline

After peaking at 58%, those with a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in the Fed chair have tumbled to 36%, the lowest number in 20 years.

This is likely due to Powell’s hard stance on fighting post-pandemic inflation, which has involved raising interest rates at an incredible speed. While these rate hikes may be necessary, they also have many adverse effects:

  • Negative impact on the stock market
  • Increases the burden for those with variable-rate debts
  • Makes mortgages and home buying less affordable

Higher rates have also prompted many U.S. tech companies to shrink their workforces, and have been a factor in the regional banking crisis, including the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

Where does this data come from?

Source: Gallup (2023)

Data Notes: Results are based on telephone interviews conducted April 3-25, 2023, with a random sample of –1,013—adults, ages 18+, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on this sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. See source for details.

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