Top China ports see 17% rise in throughout

Big Chinese ports, classified as those with annual operating revenues over US$732,000, clocked in 61.6 million TEUs in the first half of 2008, up 17.1 percent year-on-year.

The Ports of Shanghai and Shenzhen ranked first and second on the list in terms of container throughput, with Shanghai pulling 13.8 million TEUs and Shenzhen 10.2 million TEUs.

The Port of Guangzhou ranked third, with six million TEUs, a jump from it's former fifth place.

The Port of Ningbo and Port of Zhoushan came fourth with 5.2 million TEUs and the Port of Qingdao followed with just over five million TEUs.

Guangzhou, Ningbo, and Qingdao ports are expected to show figures of over 10 million TEUs for the entire 2008 period, which would bring the number of mainland ports surpassing the 10 million mark up to five.

Coastal ports handled around 57 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 16.6 percent, and inland ones handled 4.7 million, a year-on-year increase of 23.1 percent.