Shanghai Moved a Staggering 5.1M TEU in September Recovering from Typhoons

Port of Shanghai — Shanghai set a monthly record as it recovered from three typhoons (SIPG)

While already recognized for many years as the world’s busiest container port, Shanghai exceeded its own records, handling a staggering 5.135 million TEU during September. Port officials are highlighting the achievement to emphasize that the port is clearing its backlogs and working very efficiently.

Shanghai’s operations were disrupted starting in July by three powerful typhoons. The weather-related suspensions contributed to a growing backlog and vessel congestion. It was further exacerbated by a surge in exports and strong international demand. The Port of Los Angeles, for example, reported the best single month in terms of volume in its history during September at just over 1 million TEU and capping the strongest four-month stretch in the port’s history.

The Shanghai International Port Group highlights a concerted effort and close coordination to alleviate the temporary production issues following the typhoons. It reports it was dealing with concentrated arrivals of ships and backlogs of exports coming from manufacturers.

To deal with the challenges, it optimized berthing and loading/unloading operations. It also coordinated with the shipping companies to merge shipments where possible.

The result was a throughput of 5.135 million TEU in September, an increase of 6.2 percent over September 2025. It was a new monthly record, with the port highlighting that it had a daily average of 171,000 TEU.

One terminal, the Mingdong Terminal, exceeded 30,056 TEUs in one 24-hour period. It beat its own operational record. Shanghai emphasizes the high level of automation and production organization to manage these large volumes.

The momentum appears to have carried into October. The Shanghai International Port Group reports that all the docks and various departments maintained their operations during the National Day holiday, which is celebrated between October 1 and 3. The National Day makes up part of the Golden Week, where traditionally businesses take a break. Shipping lines traditionally blank sailings from their schedule for the holiday.

SIPG, however, reports that operations continued throughout the holiday week. The port handled 1.15 million TEU. That was an increase of 1.3 percent over the prior year.

The port says it continues to closely monitor vessel arrivals and cargo volume fluctuations. However, it asserts that Shanghai Port has fully returned to normal operating conditions after the successive typhoons.

Similar reports from across Asia indicate that the ports are clearing much of the backlog that built up due to the typhoons and other recent disruptions. The analysts at Linerlytica, however, continue to list Shanghai with the highest number of vessels at anchor (114 as of October 10), with an additional 82 vessels on dock. It reports that over 629,000 TEU are at anchor, giving Shanghai the highest queue-to-berth ratio.

At the beginning of August, the Shanghai International Port Group highlighted that the port complex handled a staggering 203,881 TEU on August 1, a nearly nine percent increase over a record that had been set at the beginning of June and 18.5 percent of the port’s recent daily average. Shanghai for all of 2025 had a throughput of over 55 million TEU, even exceeding the port’s forecast of 53 million for the year.