More than 5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) were handled in January at Shanghai Port, a new monthly high in container throughput worldwide, according to the port operator Shanghai International Port (Group) Co Ltd.

The achievement was made after the Shanghai Port became the world's first port to cross the 50 million TEUs mark in late December 2024.

Being the world's busiest container port, the port of Shanghai handled 51.51 million TEUs throughout 2024, the 15th year in a row of holding the top position by container throughput globally.

A series of factors, including comprehensive improvement of shipping hub capabilities and constant optimization of operational abilities, are attributed to the port's long dominance among global ports, the local media Shanghai Observer reported.

In the past few years, the port of Shanghai has set new monthly records in July 2024, January 2022 and August 2021, respectively, as the conventional peak season for container shipping arrives in the periods between July and October, as well as December and January.

The new monthly record is also a reflection of China's active foreign trade and the resilience of China's economy, which laid a solid foundation for the port's whole-year steady growth.

Regarded as an important engine of Shanghai's development into an international shipping center, the port of Shanghai's eye-catching performance would also inject strong growth momentum for the city's goal of becoming a global shipping hub.