American ports seen lagging when it comes to port efficiency though regional disruptions impacted port performance in general

Developed by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence, the fourth edition of the CPPI highlights how regional disruptions impacted port performance everywhere. The CPPI is based on available empirical objective data pertaining exclusively to time expended in a vessel stay in a port.

There are 57 new ports in the CPPI 2023, including Muuga Harbour in Estonia and Port of Al Duqm in Oman, as well as several notable movers. One of the major Indian ports, Visakhapatnam Port, made it into the top 20. Despite its relatively low ranking, Dar es Salaam Port in Tanzania managed to shave ship arrival times by 57%. Meanwhile, some Middle Eastern ports, such as those in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, experienced a decline from their previous high rankings. 

Looking at the top-performing ports, China’s Yangshan Port earned the top spot for the second consecutive year, while Oman’s Port of Salalah retained the number two position. The port of Cartagena in Colombia ascended to third place. Tanger-Mediterranean of Morocco held steady in fourth, and Tanjung Pelepas Port in Malaysia rounded out the top five.

Other key takeaways from the report include the fact that there are no American ports within the top 50 rankings, with Charleston top placed at 53. South Africa’s ongoing troubles to improve productivity at its ports was highlighted with two of the nation’s ports – Ngqura and Cape Town – ranking at the bottom of the index in 404th and 405th spot respectively with Durban also faring poorly in 398th spot. 

Martin Humphreys, lead transport economist at the World Bank, said container shipping continues to be an “unpredictable and volatile” sector. “Major ports need to invest in resilience, new technology, and green infrastructure to ensure the stability of global markets and the sustainability of the shipping industry,” Humphreys said.