Although in the context of the recent slowing in place of the traffic of the goods in the Chinese ports, in September 2026 the harbour ports of the Asian nation have recorded the highest volume of goods never enlivened in this month of the year that it has been pairs altogether to 1,57 billion tons, with an increment of +2% approximately on September last year. Also the volumes enlivened from the only marine ports and from the only internal ports, pairs respective to 998,3 million tons (+3%) and 575,4 million tons (+1%), have reached new records for the month of September.

In September 2026 the only traffic with foreign in the Chinese ports has marked the new record for the month of 497,0 million tons (+4%), of which 447,3 million tons (+4%) enlivened from the only marine ports (volume that is inferior only to the historical record of 476,8 million tons of January 2026) and 49,7 million tons enlivened from the inland port (-3%).

Also the only national traffic has reached a new record for the month of September being piled to 1,08 billion tons (+2%), with new peaks for this month both of the volumes enlivened from the marine ports that from the internal ports, attested respective to 551,0 million tons (+2%) and 525,7 million tons (+1%).

In the third trimester of the 2026 the total traffic of the goods has been of 4,56 billion tons, with a bending of the -2% on the correspondent period last year, of which 2,90 billion tons (-2%) passed through the marine ports and 1,66 billion (-3%) through the internal ports. The only total traffic with abroad is result stable being piled to 1,44 billion tons, of which 1,30 billion (0%) in the marine ports and 145 million (-4%) in the inland port. Globally the national traffic has been of 3,12 billion tons (-3%), of which 1,60 billion (-3%) in the marine ports and 1,52 billion (-3%) in the internal ports.

To September 2026 the only containerized traffic enlivened altogether from the Chinese ports has recorded the new historical record of 32,1 million teu (+8%), thanks to a new historical peak of the containers enlivened from the only marine ports that has been of 28,3 million teu (+8%), while the inland port have enlivened almost 3,8 million teu (+5%).

In the period July-september of this year the traffic of the container has been pairs to 92,1 million teu, volume that represents an increase of +1% on the same period of 2025 and is inferior only to the historical record of 93,3 million teu totaled in the second trimester of 2026. The only marine ports have enlivened 81,4 million teu (+1%) and the internal ports 10,7 million teu (-1%).

The data of the traffic enlivened in the last months from the Chinese ports confirm that, if in the last 25 years the total volume of traffic of the goods is increased of about ten times and thirteen times relative to the only container, currently the race is considerably slowing: in 2026 the harbour traffic turns out almost firm, although the Chinese foreign trade (in value) flies. The slowdown also significantly contributes the reduction of national traffic (69% of total in 2025), while the international one, in braking but still positive, is 31% of total compared to 34.5% in 2001 when at the end of the year China had entered the World Trade Organization.

The historical data confirm that the center of Chinese traffic on water has moved in the long period (but in 2026 the trend has reversed): between 2001 and 2025 the river ports have grown of +12,0% annual against +9.3% of the marine ones.

relative to comparison with the economic data, if in the entire period 2001-2025 the increase of the ports has exceeded that of the Chinese real gross domestic product that it has been of +8.0% annual, on the base of the data OCSE, and the has exceeded of two points for the goods (+10.1%) and of beyond three for the container (+11.5%), the relationship is via normalized: in 2001-2010 the tons enlivened in the ports they increase same hurry 1,6 If in the past, then, the harbour traffic has followed the phase of industrialization and development of the infrastructures in China, today it moves like the national economy.