Press release No. 147 of 4 April 2022
- Maritime transport with China accounted for just over a fifth of German container throughput in 2021
- Four of the ten most important partner ports in container traffic were Chinese ports
- By far the most important partner port in container traffic was Shanghai
WIESBADEN – The People's Republic of China is currently reacting with lockdowns to rising numbers of Covid-19 infections. One of the cities affected is the metropolis of Shanghai, whose port was the most important partner of German sea ports in container traffic in 2021. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that traffic with ports in China (3.1 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units)) accounted for just over a fifth (20.7%) of container throughput in German sea ports in 2021. Shanghai alone accounted for a throughput of 968,000 TEUs. Shanghai’s most important German partner port was Hamburg with 449,000 TEUs received and 315,000 TEUs shipped. The container throughput in German sea ports totalled 14.8 million TEUs in 2021, which is 5.9% more than in 2020, but 1.5% less than in 2019, the year before the Covid-19 crisis started.