Shanghai may overtake Singapore to become the world’s busiest container port in 2010, according to an article in Straits Times.

Boosted by a strong rebound in global trade, Shanghai handled more containers between April and June than Singapore, the report said. In the first six months of this year, Singapore moved 14.05m TEU compared with Shanghai’s 13.85m TEU.

However research by analyst AXS Alphaliner reported by IFW showed that June container volumes at China’s top 10 container ports were down 1.9 per cent on the previous month. Guangzhou and Shanghai reported the sharpest month-on-month declines of 7.1 per cent and 5.1 per cent respectively. The company said there were signs that export volumes may be weakening. This is partly because there has been a rush to meet a 15 July deadline when export tax rebates will be withdrawn for a variety of energy-consuming commodities, including certain steel and metal products.