Shanghai port’s container volume rose 7.1 per cent to 2.4m teu in December, its first increase of the year, said Shanghai International Port (Group). However, over the course of the whole year, volume fell 11 per cent to 25m teu. It was the first annual decline since a container port was first established in the city in 1978, Du Qidong, deputy secretary general of the China Ports & Harbours Association, told Seatrade.

Overseas shipments from China fell 16 per cent last year as the global recession cut consumer demand. However, container traffic could increase by 10 per cent this year, according to Zhu Anping, an analyst at Shenyin Wanguo Securities in Shanghai.

Shanghai’s overall cargo volume fell 1.1 per cent to 365m tons in 2009, said SIPG.