Seatrade Maritime: Cosco Shipping Ports sees 5.6% container volume growth

For the nine months ended September, total throughput of Cosco Shipping Ports increased by 5.6% year-on-year to 113.23 million teu. 

Among them, the total throughput from terminal companies in which the group has controlling stakes increased by 2% to 25 million teu, accounting for 22.1% of the total volume; while the throughput of non-controlling terminal companies increased by 6.7% to 88 million teu, accounting for 77.9% of the total amount.

For the latest three months ended 30 September, throughput of the terminals in China increased by 3.1% and accounted for 75.7% of the group’s total volume while throughput from overseas terminals increased by 7.6%.

Cosco Shipping Ports said that since the beginning of 2025, despite uncertainties arising from unilateral tariff measures and trade policies, global trade has demonstrated a degree of resilience in a complex environment.

According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China, in the first three quarters, the total value of goods imports and exports reached RMB 33.6 trillion, representing a year-on-year increase of 4%.

“Against this backdrop, the company proactively seized market opportunities, leveraging its globally connected terminal network and the synergistic advantages of its dual-brand strategy with the parent company and the Ocean Alliance, countered external uncertainties with the certainty of its own development,” said Cosco Shipping Ports.

“In the first three quarters, supported by its global network and resilient operations, the Company successfully mitigated market volatilities, achieving year-on-year growth in both total container throughput and profit attributable to equity holders.”  

Looking ahead, WTO raised the 2025 merchandise trade growth forecast to 2.4%, up from the 0.9% forecast in August in the newly updated “Global Trade Outlook and Statistics” report. However, the 2026 projection has been lowered to 0.5%, posing severe challenges to the overall market.