Increasing industrialisation of northern China has resulted in higher demand for container shipping. Although dominated by the domestic trade, international shipping is also expanding.Northern Chinese ports continued to capture market share from central and southern Chinese ports during the first nine months of the year, in line with the country’s aim of encouraging manufacturing to head north, as well as inland. As shown in figure 1, the northern region’s share of the overall Chinese market grew from 26% in 2012 up to 29%, although a large part of this was due to the growth in domestic cargo, which is reserved for Chinese flag vessels.

Chinese ports can be divided into three major regions. The Northern region (also known as Bohai Rim), the central region (includes Yangtze River delta) and the southern region (includes Pearl River Delta). For port details, see table below.

Chinese Regional Port Definitions


















Source: Drewry Maritime Research


Calculating the regional share in terms of container handling at the Chinese ports, we clearly see the declining share of central regional ports, where manufacturing labour is most expensive, and fast expanding handling in the Northern region ports. The Bohai Rim ports have almost doubled their share between 2002 and 2013 (year-to-date), from 15% to 29%.

Regional share of Chinese Container Handling Volume















Source: Drewry Maritime Research


In terms of annual growth rate, Northern Chinese ports have remained ahead of central Chinese ports during the last decade, baring few exceptions. The deliberate attempt by the Chinese government to develop the northern region (Bohai Rim) has attracted many industries, which has resulted in greater shipping demand.

Region-Wise Annual Growth in Container Handling in China
















Source: Drewry Maritime Research

The hinterland of northern Chinese ports consists of three North Eastern provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. Cargo handling in this region largely involves domestic and intra-Asia cargo, as shown in table below. Major export items include machine tools, auto parts and electronics, whilst steel and electronic parts are its largest imports.

Composition of Chinese Ports’ Cargo Between Jan-Sept 2013 (’000 teu)



















Source: Drewry Maritime Research

Domestic and International Cargo Split at Tianjin and Dalian (Jan-Sep 2013)

Source: Drewry Maritime Research

Although domestic movement dominates the cargo profile of the region, the volume of international cargo is also increasing rapidly, which helps to explain why the region’s freight rate premium has mostly disappeared over the past six months.
Our view

More deep-sea services will be compelled to call directly in Bohai Rim ports due to the increasing growth of foreign trade.
Source: Drewry Maritime Research