Guangzhou Port has expanded its international container routes to 119, with South Korean ship operator Pan Ocean adding a service that connects Guangzhou directly with South Korea this month.
The port is one of the fastest growing, taking fifth position in 2019 with total volumes of 23.22 million TEU (21.91 million TEU in 2018), helped by rising throughput in a Guangzhou satellite port, Nansha. As of 7 July, there are now 163 container shipping services connected to Guangzhou, including the 119 international services.
In the first six months of 2020, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Guangzhou Port Group based its strategy on the expected resilience of Asian economies compared to western societies and sought to increase Guangzhou Port’s intra-Asia container links.
During H1 2020, 12 non-domestic services connecting Guangzhou were created, including Maersk Line’s revamped PH5 Far East service connecting Russia and South East Asia, four services connecting Guangzhou with South East Asia and one service creating a link between Guangzhou and Canada.
As automobile original equipment manufacturers (OEM) suspended most of their production in the US, Japan and Europe, Guangzhou Port Group expanded the parallel import of vehicle parts into China.
In June alone, the parallel import of vehicle parts was up by 12.4% year-on-year.
“Guangzhou Port is China's largest container hub for domestic trade. As industrial and business activity in the Pearl River Delta gradually normalised by mid-year, domestic shipping companies continued to increase routes and capacity through Guangzhou Port. With the increase in capacity, domestic container throughput in June achieved a good year-on-year performance,” said a port statement.
In order to promote the development of exports, Nansha is promoting digitisation at its terminals, going paperless where possible. Guangzhou Port Group, with China Unicom, is building the first fully automated terminal in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, promoting the construction of 5G smart port application systems.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
