Ports in Motion: An overview of Far East MPP developments (2022–Q1 2025)
We’ve launched MPP ports analysis covering major Far East ports such as Shanghai, Tianjin Xingang, Kobe, Yokohama, Busan, Masan, and others. Discover key insights and trends that have shaped the Far East MPP segment over the past three years.
Here’s a sneak peek from the executive summary:
Overall Activity Development: 2022 – Q1 2025: From 2022 to 2023, most major Far East ports saw increased port calls, led by strong growth in Shanghai, Tianjin Xingang, and Masan.
Between 2023 and 2024, Japan’s Kobe, Yokohama, and Nagoya saw modest gains, while China’s top three ports recorded declines of 2% to 26%. Looking ahead, new tariffs and trade policies introduced in 2025 may lead to both surges and slowdowns in shipments to the US, driven by uncertainty and supply chain disruptions.
Carrier Performance Overview: 2022 – Q1 2025: G2 Ocean remained the leading operator in 2024 with over 900 port calls, while COSCO Heavy and NYK B&P saw notable declines from
2023. ECL and Swire Projects showed strong growth. Overall, while some operators continued to expand, several major players experienced reduced activity in 2024, signaling a shift in operational patterns or market conditions.
Time at Berth: In China, over the past 13 months (March 2024-March 2025), deep-sea extended MPP vessels spent an average of 3.7 days in/out of the Chinese ports by 3,925 port calls. In Japan, the average was 2.3 days, with the top 3 Japanese ports performing below average. In South Korea, the average was 2.5 days, with Busan registering 1.3 days, 48% faster than the national average.
Port Waiting Time: We observed several unusual or one-off events that caused sudden spikes or drops in port waiting times, impacting the reflection of overall performance. These fluctuations may be driven by weather, congestion, scheduling conflicts, or clearance delays. Despite this, Qingdao showed improved efficiency, while Kobe—Japan’s busiest MPP port—recorded the shortest waiting times among the top three.
