Asia-Europe container exports rose sharply in February to 1.66 million TEUs, up 48.5 per cent year on year, according to data compiled by the Japan Maritime Center using figures from the Container Trades Statistics.
The increase was driven in part by the earlier timing of the Lunar New Year in 2025, with volumes also marking a fourth consecutive monthly gain and setting a new February record.
In the first two months of the year, total exports reached 3.54 million TEUs, up 22.4 per cent year on year.
China and Hong Kong accounted for the bulk of outbound volumes at 1.32 million TEUs, up 65.1 per cent. Northeast Asia remained broadly stable at 137,433 TEUs, while Southeast Asia rose 11.7 per cent to 200,531 TEUs.
On the receiving side, North Europe handled 1.01 million TEUs, up 56.7 per cent. The Western Mediterranean recorded 310,394 TEUs, up 37.8 per cent, while the Eastern Mediterranean reached 334,492 TEUs, up 36.7 per cent.
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Europe–Asia backhaul volumes remained under pressure. Imports fell 3 per cent year on year in February to 484,057 TEUs, marking a third consecutive month of decline. Year-to-date volumes stood at 907,067 TEUs, down 5.2 per cent.
North Europe imports declined 9.4 per cent to 321,084 TEUs. The Western Mediterranean rose 2.5 per cent to 82,454 TEUs, while the Eastern Mediterranean increased 24.9 per cent to 80,519 TEUs.
By destination in Asia, imports into China rose 3.1 per cent to 240,719 TEUs. Northeast Asia fell 8.7 per cent to 98,189 TEUs, and Southeast Asia declined 8.2 per cent to 145,144 TEUs.
The data points to continued imbalance across the trade, with strong eastbound demand contrasting with weaker westbound flows and persistent regional divergence across Asian import markets.
In March, Sea-Intelligence pointed to a growing split in transit time performance across Asia-Europe services.
For more information:
Container Trade Statistics – https://containerstatistics.com/
