Drewry’s Global Container Port Throughput Index rose 2.2% MoM in January 2026 to 124 points which is 4.9% above the  118.2 points reported in January 2025.  Ports in the Greater China region underpinned the MoM growth, with throughput down in all other regions except North America which reported a small improvement. 

• The Greater China Container Port Throughput Index surged 10.2% MoM in January in advance of Chinese New Year. Shanghai handled over 5 mteu in January, an improvement of 12.5% MoM, with neighbouring Ningbo reporting 10.3% MoM improvement to 4.3 mteu. In contrast, volumes at other major Asian ports were down, with Busan reporting a 4.4% MoM drop in handling to just under 2 mteu and Singapore volumes down 0.7% to 3.9 mteu.
• The South Asian market continues to perform strongly, with the sub-region index rising 0.3% MoM / 7.5% YoY in January 2026. The Sri Lankan port of Colombo handled a record-breaking 0.75 mteu, closely followed by Jawaharlal Nehru Port which also broke its monthly throughput record by handling 0.74 mteu.
• The North American Container Port Throughput Index rose by just 0.6% MoM in January, and at 106.2 points was 5.9% below the January 2025 level.  The West Coast North America Index rose by 1.7% MoM, but this was offset by the 1.8% MoM reduction reported for the East Coast North America market. 
• The European Container Port Throughput Index dropped 5.3% MoM / 1.2% YoY in January. Volumes are estimated to have dropped by an average 5% MoM across the Northwest European market, but our AIS database shows an improvement in activity levels in February. Similarly, the West Mediterranean index dropped 3.9% MoM in January, but is expected to rebound in February.