Shanghai Moved a Staggering 5.1M TEU in September Recovering from Typhoons
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.
Port of Savannah Gets Army Corps Permit for New 3.5M TEU Container Terminal
Georgia Port Authority has secured the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' approval for a massive new container terminal at the Port of Savannah, completing a three-year-long review process.
The new terminal will be built on Hutchison Island on 350 acres, and will have a capacity of 3.5 million TEU. The extra room will allow Savannah to continue a decade-long growth boom, which started with the inauguration of the New Panama Canal and "all-water" routes from Asia to the U.S. East Coast back in 2016.
At present, the port has a nameplate capacity of about 7.75 million TEU. It is also augmenting the Ocean Terminal, spending about $1.6 billion to increase its capacity from 200,000 TEU today to about 1.75 million TEU in 2028.
The port authority, the state and the Corps of Engineers are working on additional projects to improve the harbor for larger vessel traffic and build out the shoreside infrastructure for intermodal transport. The work includes a large-scale dredging project for Savannah Harbor.
The progress on permitting for the new terminal will be a capstone for the tenure of longtime CEO Griff Lynch, who has been at the helm of the Georgia Port Authority since 2011. Over the period, Savannah's container volume has nearly doubled, and GPA's overall revenues have more than tripled.
"We have been blessed with talented, dedicated people at GPA and with business partners who defined our service levels, enabling our customers to succeed and grow. I’m proud of our people, thankful for our customers and confident in the port and inland infrastructure we’ve built. We’re never done growing," said Lynch in a statement.
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