AJOT’s Top 100 Container Ports
Although geo-political shifts have yo-yoed container shipping movements and freight rates over the last two years, the number of TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) that were handled by the world’s largest ports in 2025 represented a solid year for container shipping business. However, there is a large, and getting larger, caveat buried in port figures — the dislocation of trade routes in the Middle East due to the ongoing conflict, both in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf has had a significant impact on container ports and shipping routes that is still continuing. If geo-political tensions remain a spanner in the global economic works through 2026, next year’s numbers may look considerably worse than 2025. Already containership operators are regularly ‘blanking’ sailings and smaller to mid-sized containers have thus far suffered that most, but that could change should the economics of 2026-27 dictate schedule cutbacks for the ocean carrier alliances. The silver lining that has in the past propped up TEU numbers, is the resilience of the US economy. But will it happen again is still difficult to ascertain as the first half of 2026 ends.