CPPI: World’s most efficient container ports are based in Asia

Asian container ports are winning spots among the first top 50, scoring high on key port performance metrics, the new Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) shows.

The report, published by the World Bank and IHS Markit, scored ports against different metrics, making the efficiency ranking comparable around the globe by assessing and standardizing for different ship sizes and container moves per call. 

With most of the top 50 spots located in Asia, Asian seaports have proved to follow best practices to ensure business continuity, and follow trends from 2019 and 2020.

“The development of high-quality and efficient container port infrastructure is a key contributor to successful, export-led growth strategies both in developing and developed countries”, stated Martin Humphreys, Lead Transport Economist and Global Lead for Transport Connectivity and Regional Integration in the World Bank. 

“Efficient ports also ensure business continuity and improve the resilience of the maritime gateways as crucial nodes in the global logistical system.”

During the pandemic period, ports have experienced delays across the globe, causing goods shortages and higher price costs in the long run. The Container Port Performace Index aims to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement that will benefit stakeholders from shipping lines to national governments to consumers.

“Inefficient port operations have a very direct impact on supplies across the country and their populations. During the COVID-19 pandemic we saw port delays causing shortages of essential goods and higher prices. Over the longer term such bottlenecks can mean slower economic growth, higher costs for importers and exporters and even resulting in less employment,” added Turloch Mooney, Associate Director, Maritime and Trade at IHS Markit.

Out of the first 50 spots, the Port of Yokohama in Japan has secured its top spot on the list, covering seven container berths and housing a million square meters of warehouse space at Yokohama Port Cargo Center.

Currently, Yokohama port tops performance by taking just 1.1 minutes to load or unload a container in a standard port call, which, compared to an average African port score, is three times faster.

As Asia continues to be one of the biggest global economic engines accounting for 76% of all maritime trade as published by UNCTAD Review of Maritime Transport, its ports are to increase their already dominant share of the global market.