Shanghai International Port Group Ltd (SIPG), the largest port group in mainland China and the operator of the Port of Shanghai, broke its container handling record in 2018, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
SIPG’s currently unaudited preliminary earnings show the group handled just over 42 million TEU in 2018, an increase of 4.4% on its 2017 traffic, showing that it is as of yet unaffected by geopolitical uncertainty brought on the US-China trade war.
The results mean Shanghai retains its position as the world’s busiest container port, despite general cargo handling remaining relatively flat at 561 million tonnes.
Furthermore, SIPG said its net income was US$1.52 billion, meaning it exceeded 10 billion yuan for the second year in a row.
However, this was a drop of 10.9% on 2017's figures, despite the group seeing revenue rise by 2%.
How are ports managing to prosper in a changing manufacturing environment? Find out with a Port Technology technical paper
2018 was a year of continued technological innovation from Shanghai. In November 2018, it joined a group of nine leading ocean carriers and terminal operators to develop the Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN).
The collaboration included COSCO Shipping Lines, DP World, CMA CGM, Hutchison Ports and PSA International, among others, and was designed to provide a platform for cross-industry collaboration and supply chain optimization.
In September 2018, the port also participated in a blockchain and AI initiative launched by technology leaders Ideanomics and APMEN Trade Tech to improve shipping operations by integrating port and supply chain data.
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