2010 Was Banner Year for Ocean Container Traffic

Global ocean container traffic reached an all-time high of 560 million 20-foot equivalent units in 2010, driven by surging volume at Chinese ports, according to Alphaliner.

This followed a record year-on-year increase of 14.5 percent over 2009, when the first annual drop in the history of containerization shrunk overall port traffic 8.9 percent, the Paris-based analyst said.

Chinese ports, including Hong Kong, boosted throughput 17.9 percent to 169 million TEUs, to increase their world market share to 30.1 percent in 2010 from 29.3 percent in the previous year.

China now accounts for nine of the world's top 20 container ports with most of its ports recording faster growth than ports in other regions.

South America was the second-fastest-growing region with its ports increasing box traffic 17.6 percent in 2010.

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