While the total number of global terminal operators (GTOs) featured in the Drewry league tables remained unchanged at 21 in 2023, the composition has changed significantly. The league tables that are a central feature in the latest edition of Drewry’s Global Container Terminal Operators Annual Review and Forecast now include Adani, AD Ports Group, and Hapag-Lloyd, while the acquisition of SAAM Ports and Bolloré has removed these two companies from the rankings, reports Drewry.
Equity Adjusted Throughput
The position of the largest global terminal operators (GTOs) at the top of the rankings has further strengthened, with the seven largest firms now handling over 40% of global port throughput on an equity-adjusted basis.
Eleanor Hadland, author of the report and Drewry’s senior analyst for ports and terminals said: “The seven largest GTOs all reported equity-adjusted throughput of more than 40 mteu in 2023. While several of the smaller GTOs have clearly stated their intention to expand their portfolios, there are very limited opportunities to close the 30 mteu wide gap that exists between this leading pack and the rest of the table.”
Some highlights of this group:
- PSA International retained the top spot in the equity-adjusted rankings, with an equity-adjusted throughput of 62.6 mteu in 2023, up 4.6% over 2022.
- China Merchants moved up to take second place with an equity-adjusted throughput of 55 mteu.
- MSC Group recorded the strongest growth, with equity teu up by more than 10% following the acquisition of Bolloré Africa Logistics in December 2022.
- Adani was the highest placed of the new entrants, securing 13th position in the rankings with an equity-adjusted throughput of 6.5 mteu. This position is expected to improve next year with strong growth in the Indian market, boosted by international developments.
- Similarly, we expect AD Ports and Hapag-Lloyd to improve upon their rankings in 2024 when the full-year impact of their 2023 acquisitions will be seen.
Leading Terminal Operators
Revenue of terminal operators was mixed at the same time, with the normalization of congestion-related storage income to pre-Covid levels depressing the additional revenue from inflation-linked tariff increases. The Drewry Global Container Terminal Revenue began an upward move in the last quarter of the year, driven by robust demand from the US, with the positive momentum accelerating in 1Q24 due to the knock-on effect of the Red Sea crisis, which again increased congestion-related storage income.
“While congestion is starting to ease, the recovery of consumer demand in import-dominant markets will provide continued support to the average revenues reported by the GTOs that are included in the Index”, added Hadland.
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Source: Drewry
