The World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence Container Port Performance Index shows that ports in the Middle East and East Asia responded best to the large volume growth and service volatility caused by the impacts of the global pandemic

WASHINGTON, May 25, 2022  — Middle Eastern ports occupied four of the top five places in the second edition of the Global Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) developed by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence. The CPPI is a comparable index of global container port performance that is intended to serve as a benchmark for key stakeholders in the global economy.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah Port tops the rankings in 2021, with regional competitors Port Salalah in Oman, Hamad Port in Qatar and Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi completing the top five. The Islamic Port of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia also stood out in eighth place overall.

The ranking is based on the time vessels needed to spend in port to complete workloads over the course of 2021, a year that saw unprecedented port congestion and disruption to global supply chains.

“Increasing the use of digital technology and green fuel alternatives are two ways countries can modernize their ports and make maritime supply chains more resilient,” he said. Martin Humphreys, senior transport economist at the World Bank and one of the researchers behind the index. “Inefficient ports represent a significant risk for many developing countries, as they can hinder economic growth, harm employment and increase costs for importers and exporters. In the Middle East, heavy investments in container port infrastructure and technology are proving effective.”

The new report also highlights the resilience of East Asian ports and the ability of Chinese ports in particular to effectively handle the challenges brought on by the pandemic.    

Three of China's big gateways, Shanghai (Yangshan), Ningbo and the southern port of Guangzhou, feature in the top ten, while last year's most efficient port, Yokohama in Japan, fell to tenth place overall.

The index and underlying data are intended to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement that would benefit all key stakeholders in global trade, including governments, shipping lines, port and terminal operators, shippers, logistics companies and consumers.

Key port performance metrics show large discrepancies in global port efficiency in 2021, with top ports such as King Abdullah Port achieving an average of 97 container movements per hour of vessel port time compared to just 26 container movements per hour at major North American ports. West Coast.

More than four-fifths of global merchandise trade by volume is transported by sea, and approximately 35 % of total volumes and more than 60 % of trade value are shipped in containers.

“The pandemic highlighted in clear terms the critical role that port performance plays in the timely supply of goods to countries and their populations. The effects of the pandemic on major global gateways and associated supply chains are very concerning and continue to cause severe supply delays and product shortages, leading to higher prices and negatively impacting the financial situation. from many companies,” he said. Turloch Mooney, Associate Director, Maritime and Commercial at S&P Global Market Intelligence .

In the position 23, the Port of Virginia is the highest-ranked port in North America, followed by Miami (29) and Halifax in Canada (46).

The Moroccan port of Tangier-Med, in sixth place , is the highest ranked port in Europe and North Africa. Cartagena in Colombia (12) ranks first in Latin America and the Caribbean, while Port Matadi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (171) is the best performing port in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The container port performance index is based on total port hours per ship call, defined as the time from when a ship arrives at a port until it leaves the berth after having completed its cargo exchange. Larger or smaller workloads are taken into account by examining the underlying data within ten different call size ranges. Five different ship size groups are taken into account in the methodology given the potential for greater fuel and emissions savings on larger ships.

The full index can be found here .

Source: World Bank