Throughput Increases, Empty Containers Decrease Port "barometer" reveals a new atmosphere of economy and trade

Beijing, 4 Apr (Xinhua) -- On 27 April, the Economic Information Daily published an article entitled "Throughput Increases, Empty Containers Decrease, Port 'Barometer' Reveals New Economic and Trade Atmosphere." The article said that the port is a "barometer" to observe the pulse of the economy. The reporter of "Economic Information Daily" recently interviewed and learned that in the first quarter, the throughput of many ports in China increased significantly, and the volume of empty containers was gradually decreasing, revealing the new atmosphere of China's economic and trade development, and also strengthened the confidence in maintaining stability and improving the quality of foreign trade throughout the year under the complex background.

Reduction of empty containers Increased throughput in many ports

After the valley rain, on the coast of the East China Sea, Zhejiang Ningbo Zhoushan Port, which has the world's largest annual cargo throughput and the third largest container throughput in the world, is a busy scene.

The Economic Information Daily reporter saw at the container terminal in the Chuanshan Port Area of the port that on the quay shoreline of about 3.74 kilometers, 11,<>-ton giant ships were lined up, and <> large-scale container deep-water berths were basically full. The bridge crane is busy and works closely with container trucks to load and unload goods.

According to data from the Zhejiang Port and Shipping Management Center, from January to March this year, Ningbo Zhoushan Port completed a cargo throughput of 1 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.3%; The container throughput was 31.9 million TEU, a year-on-year increase of 14.818%.

"Since the beginning of the year, port logistics has remained smooth and orderly, especially after the Spring Festival holiday, as enterprises resume work and production, the volume of containers has gradually increased, reflecting a positive signal of foreign trade recovery." The relevant person in charge of the business department of Ningbo Zhoushan Port Co., Ltd. said.

Not only Ningbo Zhoushan Port, since March, the level of empty container storage in many ports in China has fallen from a high point, and the volume of containers used is gradually recovering.

Liang Jing, director secretary of Guangzhou Port Company, disclosed at the 2022 annual performance briefing recently held that in the first quarter of this year, the utilization rate of the company's foreign trade empty container yard (proportional to the number of empty container stacks) was reduced by about ten percentage points compared with the high level.

This positive change is further evidenced by throughput. According to the latest data from the Ministry of Transport, from January to March this year, the national ports completed a cargo throughput of 1.3 billion tons, a year-on-year increase of 38.54%, of which the foreign trade cargo throughput was 6.2 billion tons, an increase of 11.9%, and the domestic trade cargo throughput was 7.8 billion tons, an increase of 26.6%; The container throughput of the national port was 5.4 million TEU, a year-on-year increase of 6973.3%.

It is worth noting that the container throughput of northern ports increased significantly in the first quarter, and the year-on-year growth rate of Qingdao Port, Rizhao Port, Yantai Port, Weihai Port, Yingkou Port and Dalian Port reached double digits.

New momentum grows and foreign trade growth potential is released

The busy operation of the port and the frequent "migration" of containers confirm the new atmosphere of stable and qualitative improvement of China's foreign trade.

In January, it fell by 1% year-on-year, in February it grew rapidly by 7%, and in March it increased sharply by 2.8%, and the growth rate of China's foreign trade imports and exports in the first quarter ran an upward curve.

Among them, the "new three" competitive advantages of electric vehicles, photovoltaics and lithium batteries continued to be released, and the total export growth in the first quarter was 66.9%, with a year-on-year increase of more than 1000 billion yuan, driving the overall growth rate of China's exports to 2 percentage points.

A few days ago, in the Yantai Port yard of Shandong Port, thousands of neatly arranged commercial vehicles entered the cabin one by one, preparing to sail to the world's major automobile markets such as the Americas, Africa, and Europe, and the scene was spectacular.

The reporter of "Economic Information Daily" learned that as the fifth largest coastal logistics distribution port and the third largest foreign trade export port in China, Yantai Port of Shandong Port has completed the shipment of 14,9 foreign trade commodity vehicles since the beginning of this year, doubling year-on-year.

PV exports are also hot. "At present, the company's overall orders are stable and improving, and while receiving orders from Australia, Europe, Latin America and other places, it also focuses on emerging markets such as Asia Pacific and the Middle East." Ni Hanyi, global market director of Zhejiang Chint Xinneng Technology Co., Ltd., said.

The commodity structure is changing, and the "circle of friends" of China's foreign trade is more diverse, and the growth potential is further stimulated.

In the first quarter, China's imports and exports to ASEAN, the largest trading partner, increased by 16.1% year-on-year, 11.3 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate, accounting for 15.8% of the total import and export value; Imports and exports to countries along the "Belt and Road" increased by 16.8%, 12 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate; The total import and export to the other 14 RCEP member countries increased by 7.3% year-on-year, of which the growth rate of Singapore, Laos and Myanmar exceeded <>%.

The continuous abundant route resources and the continuous improvement of the port's comprehensive service capabilities provide strong support for ensuring the smooth flow of the trade supply chain and industrial chain.

Taking Yantai Port of Shandong as an example, it opened up the bonded potash fertilizer business of China-Europe Express for the first time this year, and built a new cross-border logistics channel for two-way international sea-rail intermodal transportation of "Western Union Eurasia, Eastern Union Japan and South Korea"; Relying on the advantageous shipping capacity and high-quality routes of China-South Korea liners, we will make every effort to build the "Belt and Road", RCEP routes and container cross-border e-commerce boutique express lines; International Grocery Indonesia was strong, up 77% year-on-year.

"We export small commodities in the form of market procurement trade, customs declaration procedures are more simplified, customs clearance speed is faster, export costs are lower, coupled with Yantai Port's convenient China-South Korea liner advantages, we have exported more than 200 batches of small commodities to South Korea this year." The person in charge of Yantai Han Rongfeng Industry and Trade Co., Ltd. said.

Promote stability and improve quality A series of measures concentrate efforts

Although China's foreign trade achieved a stable start in the first quarter, the current situation is still complex and severe, facing many difficulties and challenges, such as the uncertainty of foreign demand, rising trade risks, and increased pressure on enterprise operations.

Recently, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Promoting the Stable Scale and Excellent Structure of Foreign Trade", proposing to make greater efforts to promote the stable scale and excellent structure of foreign trade to ensure the realization of the goal of promoting stability and improving quality of import and export.

A series of measures will focus on the issuance of relevant country-specific trade guidelines, finding ways to stabilize exports to developed economies, and guiding enterprises to explore developing countries and regional markets such as ASEAN; Organize direct customer docking between automobile enterprises and shipping companies, and guide automobile enterprises to sign medium- and long-term agreements with shipping enterprises; Study the establishment of the second phase of the Service Trade Innovation and Development Guidance Fund......

"The key to stabilizing foreign trade is to improve quality and innovate." Ni Yueju, a researcher at the Institute of World Economics and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that in the future, China's foreign trade development should pay more attention to the optimization of structure, the cultivation of new advantages and the mining of new kinetic energy, and constantly develop new products, new formats and new models.

Jiang Ruifeng, general manager of Sigmai Co., Ltd., has a deep understanding of this. He said: "Regardless of the external environment, we have been committed to innovation and research and development, and constantly enhance the core competitiveness of enterprises. ”

The automobile, a manufacturer of shock absorbers in Sanmen County, Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, mainly in Europe and the United States, plans to increase sales by more than 20% this year. Jiang Ruifeng told reporters that the electronic adjustable shock absorber developed by the company has recently been put into the market, helping the company successfully obtain business increments in the European market.

In the face of the requirements of foreign trade to promote stability and improve quality, many ports have also taken action. The relevant person in charge of Yantai Port of Shandong Port said that while customizing personalized and butler-style services for customers, the next step will continue to give full play to the integrated and intelligent advantages of Yantai Port's intelligent inspection platform, help "Made in China" go to sea more efficiently and conveniently, and strive to achieve the same frequency resonance between the port and the regional economy.

Experts predict that as China's economic operation continues to improve as a whole, foreign trade stabilizes the scale and structural measures continue to make efforts, China's foreign trade momentum is expected to continue further, export boxes will gradually increase, and the growth of the main indicators of coastal port production will rebound this year. (Reporter Wang Lu, Wei Yijun, Zhang Wuyue)