In May 2025, global container traffic showed a stable and widespread upward trend, as revealed by the Drewry Container Port Throughput Index published on 25 July 2025. The global index, which takes January 2019 as a baseline (value 100) and is based on a representative sample of over 340 ports worldwide, rose by 1.4% compared to April and by 5.4% compared to May 2024. This points to solid growth on an annual basis as well, supported by a twelve-month moving average that remains steady at 6.5% for the third consecutive month.
Among the regions contributing most to this expansion are the Middle East and South Asia, which are leading the recovery with a monthly increase of 5% and annual growth of 11%. Africa also recorded particularly strong results, with a jump of 10.2% from April, while Latin America remains dynamic, posting a 6.9% monthly rise and an 8.7% increase year-on-year. North and Southeast Asia are also showing signs of expansion, with growth of 3.3% over the previous month and 5.5% compared to May 2024. In Europe, the monthly increase stood at 3.7%, while annual volumes rose by 5.3%. Among European ports, Port Said East in Egypt stood out, posting a 20% increase from April and more than 50% year-on-year, thanks to a cumulative traffic figure since the start of the year that is 18% higher than in 2024.
Mainland China, while still holding a leading position, saw a slight monthly contraction of 0.4%, bringing the regional index to 124.9 points. However, compared to the same month the previous year, volumes were up by 4.5%. The annual average stood at 6.3%, slightly below the global average. The region’s main ports continue to grow nonetheless, with Shanghai in particular recording annual growth of 10.2% and the top five Chinese ports averaging 7.2%.
North America showed the most critical figure of the month, with an 8.0% drop compared to April. Despite a 2.7% year-on-year increase, the monthly figure reflects the negative impact of new tariffs imposed by the US government during the so-called Liberation Day. Ports on the west coast experienced significant contractions: Long Beach lost 26.3% of volumes compared to April (and 8.2% compared to May 2024), while Los Angeles saw a 15% monthly drop and a 4.8% annual decline. Manzanillo in Mexico fell by 10.4% compared to the previous year, Seattle by 9.6% and Oakland by 0.3%. Only Vancouver and Lázaro Cárdenas defied the downward trend, with respective year-on-year growth of 13.9% and 12.6%.
The only region to post a contraction on both a monthly and annual basis was Oceania, with a 1.6% decline from April and 0.9% compared to May 2024. The region continues to struggle with weak maritime connections to Asia and rising domestic logistics costs, which are hindering a full post-pandemic recovery.
