Asia continues to dominate global container shipping, according to the latest operational estimates published by EconDB for May 2026. The data highlights the continued strength of the region’s major export gateways while underlining the strategic importance of transshipment hubs in maintaining global trade flows. The following analysis examines the first ten ports displayed in EconDB’s May 2026 operational dataset. Together, they provide valuable insight into import and export activity, re-export patterns, connectivity and reefer cargo movements across some of the world’s busiest container hubs. EconDB Order Port UN/LOCODE May Imports May Exports Re-export Ratio Connectivity Index Reefer Exports 1 Singapore SG SIN 1,434k 1,336k 78.4% 229 6k 2 Shanghai CN SHA 330k 1,081k 28.1% 227 11k 3 Busan KR PUS 713k 849k 58.6% 146 12k 4 Ningbo CN NGB 250k 914k 24.2% 208 11k 5 Tanjung Pelepas MY TPP 525k 567k 92.7% 59 9k 6 Qingdao CN TAO 167k 657k 10.4% 130 18k 7 Tanger Med MA PTM 477k 424k 90.7% 59 10k 8 Antwerp BE ANR 378k 436k 40.3% 88 24k 9 Rotterdam NL RTM 652k 305k 27.0% 89 21k 10 Kaohsiung TW KHH 357k 302k 67.9% 88 2k   Singapore remains the leading operational hub Singapore records the highest overall container activity among the ports included in EconDB’s May operational estimates. The port combines strong import and export volumes with a re-export ratio of 78.4%, reinforcing its role as one of the world’s foremost transshipment hubs linking major east-west and intra-Asian shipping services. Chinese gateways continue to power global exports China’s leading container gateways remain heavily export-oriented. Shanghai and Ningbo record substantially higher export volumes than imports, reflecting their position at the heart of the country’s manufacturing and export economy. Qingdao follows the same pattern, further demonstrating the importance of China’s coastal ports in supporting global containerised trade. Connectivity