Shanghai Smashes Record Handling Over 200,000 TEU in One Day
The Port of Shanghai, which has been the busiest container port for the past 16 years and continues to set records, smashed the record for daily container throughput. The achievement came as the port continues to recover from the impact of a large typhoon in mid-July, but nonetheless handled more boxes in a day than many ports handle in a year.
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 had set its previous record of 187,312 TEU on June 9, topping a record of 174,338 TEU set on October 30, 2025.
Port officials highlight that Shanghai has been working to clear a backlog that developed after Typhoon Bavi forced the suspension of operations from July 11 to 13. The storm came ashore with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph. In addition to power outages and flooding, there were reports of widespread disruption to flights and train service.
Shanghai resumed operations on July 13, but a significant backlog of vessels had built up. In addition to the large ocean vessels, smaller feeders and trunk vessels had been forced to seek safe areas to wait out the storm. The port said that it was experiencing tight berth availability and a temporary buildup of containers as it worked to recover.
After the storm, the port highlighted that it quickly resumed handling 172,000 TEU per day. Officials said the throughput had been stable as they worked to clear the backlog.
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Officials highlight the extensive use of automation in the port, contributing to its rapid growth. For example, the Shanghai Yangshan Deep Water Port grew throughput by nine percent in 2025 to handle 7.45 million TEU, largely due to advanced automation. On Saturday, the terminal contributed to the new record, handling nearly 30,000 TEU, up from its average of approximately 21,000 per day in 2025.
Last year, the Shanghai port complex handled a total of 55.1 million TEU, which was nearly a seven percent year-over-year increase. The port complex is a major hub of the Yangtze River Delta. Chinese officials released a plan that calls for growing the throughput to exceed 58 million TEU by 2030. The port will have to have an average yearly increase of nearly 600,000 TEU to reach its target.
