Shanghai leads world in container throughput

Shanghai has improved its transport network over the past five years and continues to lead in container turnover volume, the city’s transport bureau said on Wednesday.

Shanghai Port’s container throughput reached 43.5 million TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) in 2020, ranking first in the world for the 11th consecutive year. Shanghai was also the third biggest international shipping center.

Domestic container trade bounced back in the third quarter, with an annual throughput of 7 million TEU, a year-on-year increase of 12.5 percent.

International cargo throughput, including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan flights, reached 3.421 million tons, 2.9 percent higher than the previous year.

International flights have been suffering from the pandemic, with annual passenger numbers dropping nearly 90 percent to 5.2 million.

Transport within the city has been getting back to normal since last April, with Metro passenger numbers close to 12 million in December.

In the past five years, the city has been listed as a model city in China in terms of the promotion of public transport and new-energy vehicles.

The average commuting time in central urban areas is around 42 minutes with 58 percent of commuters tending to take public transport, 10 percent higher than in 2014.

The total length of the Metro network reached 770 kilometers, with the figure for bus lines close to 16 kilometers. About 21 percent of bus lines are shuttle buses to Metro stations.

The total number of motor vehicles reached 4.69 million in 2020 with the addition of 267,000 private cars taking their number to 3.97 million. The number of new energy private cars reached 420,000.

The transport industry’s total energy consumption has decreased by 15 percent thanks to emission controls.

In 2019, 34 percent of the city’s households owned at least one car, an increase of 6 percent from 2014. The average daily mileage per car dropped to 25 kilometers (32 kilometers in 2014).

To facilitate the integration of the Yangtze Delta region, major railway projects such as the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou railway have been launched.

The launch of a smart parking app has relieved parking pressure, with a total of 30,000 shared parking lots introduced.