The latest statistical data from Shenzhen Customs show that in the first five months of this year, Shenzhen Port's import and export container throughput exceeded 11.6 million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units), a year-on-year increase of 14.6%. In contrast, the same period last year saw a throughput of 10.91 million TEUs, a year-on-year decrease of 7.4%; for the entire year of last year, the throughput was 29.88 million TEUs, a year-on-year decrease of 0.52%.

Shenzhen Port's performance ranks among the top in China's major seaports. Public data indicates that in the first five months of this year, Ningbo Zhoushan Port completed a container throughput of 15.8031 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 9.25%; Guangzhou Port completed 10.6388 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 5.8%; Tianjin Port completed 9.58 million standard boxes, a year-on-year increase of 5.1%; the coastal ports of Shandong Province completed 18.477 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 10.7%. Relying on the new western land-sea corridor, the container throughput of Beibu Gulf Port increased by 19.11% year-on-year, but the total volume is relatively small, at 3.513 million TEUs.

How has Shenzhen Port managed to reverse its downturn and achieve a double-digit increase in container throughput in such a short time? First Financial Daily reporters found that the overall strong growth of Shenzhen's foreign trade, the improvement of port service efficiency, and the significant expansion of export source locations are the main reasons for this outcome.

Mutually reinforcing with foreign trade growth

As one of the top foreign trade cities in China, Shenzhen's foreign trade has grown robustly this year, which is the direct cause of the significant increase in container throughput at Shenzhen Port. The two are also mutually reinforcing.

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Customs data shows that in the first five months of this year, Shenzhen's import and export trade amounted to 1.81 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 34.3%. Shenzhen's export products, both the "old three" and the "new three," are advancing in tandem. In the first five months, the export of mobile phones, computers, home appliances, and other goods totaled 142.29 billion yuan, a 20% increase, and the export of electric vehicles was 9.58 billion yuan, a 30.7% increase. Reporters learned from BYD Company that this year, due to the continuous rise in new energy vehicle orders from the South American market, the ro-ro ship capacity can no longer meet the export demand, and some exports have switched to container form.

In addition, the booming cross-border e-commerce has also brought a large demand for container transportation. Shenzhen is the first cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zone in the country to initiate the legalization of cross-border e-commerce, with more than 150,000 cross-border e-commerce export enterprises gathered. In 2023, the import and export volume of cross-border e-commerce reached 326.53 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 74.4%. Since the beginning of this year, Shenzhen's cross-border e-commerce import and export volume has continued to grow at a double-digit rate, accounting for about one-fifth of the national total. Labor-intensive products are the main products of cross-border e-commerce, with Shenzhen's export of labor-intensive products reaching 158.62 billion yuan in the first five months, a 82.6% increase.

The Greater Bay Area's combined ports bring a rich source of goods

Recently, the "Chang Yuan 78" container barge, full of export goods, sailed from Beijiao Port in Foshan to the Yantian Port area in eastern Shenzhen, and then boarded an international container liner for export overseas. This marked the official opening of the "Foshan Beijiao-Shenzhen Yantian" combined port route.

As one of the world's largest container terminals, Yantian Port has 20 large container deep-water berths and the only natural waterway in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area that can achieve all-weather, two-way navigation for 200,000-ton ships. Yantian International Container Terminal has nearly a hundred routes to global destinations every week, more than 60% of which are to Europe and America. Goods departing from Yantian Port can reach the West Coast of the United States in as little as 12.5 days and Europe in 22 days.Beijiao Port is the main export port for Foshan's home appliance products, with an annual throughput of about 600,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). Under the combined port model, Beijiao Port and Yantian Port can achieve inter-port information interconnectivity and mutual recognition of customs supervision. The export of goods only requires one declaration, one inspection, and one release, reducing the customs clearance time from the original 7-10 days to 3-5 days.

As an international shipping hub port in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Yantian Port has so far opened 13 combined ports in the Greater Bay Area. This not only brings abundant cargo resources to Shenzhen Port but also strongly catalyzes the scale effect of the port cluster in the Greater Bay Area.

Service Reach Extended to the Southwestern Inland Area

In addition to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Shenzhen Port's "sphere of influence" also extends far into the southwestern region. Recently, the first successful launch of the Yantian International Chongqing-Deep Sea Railway Combined Transport scheduled train was made. The train departs from Chongqing and arrives in Shenzhen in just 2 days, becoming another optional channel for the export of goods from the southwestern region.

After the successful operation of the Chongqing-Deep Sea Railway Combined Transport scheduled train, goods from the southwestern region can be exported directly from Yantian Port in Shenzhen, or transferred to the Kwai Tsing Port in Hong Kong via feeder ships and then transported to the export destination. The Kwai Tsing Port in Hong Kong mainly serves the Asian and South American markets and has a high degree of complementarity with Yantian Port in Shenzhen. The feeder ship service between the two ports has been operating for more than 30 years.

Data provided by Yantian International Container Terminal shows that from 2019 to 2023, the sea-rail combined transport volume of Yantian Port in Shenzhen has achieved double-digit growth for five consecutive years, and the transport volume in 2023 set a new historical record. So far, Yantian International has opened 14 inland ports for sea-rail combined transport, increasing the routes to 31; 13 feeder ship combined ports and 17 feeder ship branches have been opened, covering important economic areas such as the Greater Bay Area, Central China, and the Southwest.

Cost Reduction and Efficiency Increase for Domestic and Foreign Trade on the Same Ship

On April 9th of this year, the "CASCO 938" container ship, which set off from Zhongshan Xiaolan Port, arrived at the Dasha Bay Port under Shenzhen Port, marking the official opening of the domestic and foreign trade container co-shipment business at Dasha Bay Port.

Domestic and foreign trade container co-shipment refers to the domestic vessels carrying customs transit-regulated goods, while also carrying import and export container goods that have undergone customs transit procedures and domestic trade container goods not under customs supervision. Through domestic and foreign trade container co-shipment, shipping companies can consolidate domestic and foreign trade goods with the same destination, load them on the same ship, improve space utilization, reduce operating costs, and import and export companies can also handle customs declaration, inspection, and release procedures nearby.

Dasha Bay Port is one of the ports located in the western part of Shenzhen, adjacent to Dongguan in the north and facing Zhongshan in the west. With the domestic and foreign trade container co-shipment model, Dasha Bay Terminals Company can form a port area linkage with other ports, effectively utilize the routes of foreign ports, reduce water transport logistics costs, and thereby attract more import and export cargo to choose transportation through Dasha Bay Port.