by Lloyd's List

12 August (Lloyd's List) - THE top seven global container terminal operators cemented their place at the top of the league table in the latest Global Container Terminal Operators Annual Review and Forecast published by shipping consultants Drewry. 

Together, the top seven operators accounted for 40% of global port throughput on an equity-adjusted basis.

All seven reported a throughput of more than 40m teu in 2023. Eleanor Hadland, author of the report and Drewry’s senior analyst for ports and terminals, said that while several of the smaller GTOs have started their intention to expand their portfolios, “there are very limited opportunities to close the 30m teu wide gap that exists between this leading pack and the rest of the table”.

PSA International retained top spot in the league table, with an equity-adjusted throughput of 62.6m teu in 2023 and a 4.6% increase on 2022.

China Merchants, Cosco, APM Terminals, DP World, Hutchison and Mediterranean Shipping Co made up the remaining six places in that group of seven.

Drewry said it expected Adani, which ranked 13th in this year’s rankings, to improve its position next year with strong growth in the Indian market. It also expects Abu Dhabi-based AD Ports and Hapag-Lloyd to improve on their 2024 rankings once the full impact of their 2023 acquisitions is felt.

The report said revenue for terminal operators remained mixed, though, with congestion-related income returning to pre-lockdown levels offsetting inflation-linked tariff increases.