According to statistics from the Nantong Maritime Authorities, Nantong recorded a 35.5 per cent year-on-year rise in foreign trade-related throughput in April to 3.02m tons. In the first two months of 2009, foreign trade-related throughput declined in Nantong as it did in most other Chinese ports due to the worldwide economic downturn. It started to rise in March on the back of the many infrastructure projects benefiting from the central government’s stimulus package. Increasing demand for iron ore and other imported metals contributed to a steady increase in Nantong’s throughput. In April, the volume of copper ore concentrates alone hit 200,040 tons, a record for a single month.

Opposite Nantong on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Taicang terminal reported a 28 per cent year-on-year increase in cargo throughput to 14.15m tons and a 5.6 per cent rise in container throughput of 423,000 teu for the first four months of the year. This makes it one of the best performing ports along the entire navigable length of the Yangtze.