The world’s busiest port is contested by several ports around the world, as there is as yet no standardised means of evaluating port performance and traffic. For the past decade, the distinction has been claimed by both the Port of Rotterdam and the Port of Singapore. The former based its measurement on cargo tonnage handled (total weight of goods loaded and discharged), while the latter ranked in terms of shipping tonnage handled (total volume of ships handled). Since 2005, the Port of Shanghai has exceeded both ports to take the title in terms of total cargo tonnage. The presented figures here are in metric tons from 2010, as seen on Geohive.
Shanghai, China – 650,000,000
Ningbo-Zhoushan, China – 627,000,000
Singapore, Singapore – 463,074,600
Rotterdam, Netherlands – 429,900,000
Tianjin, China – 408,000,000
Guangzhou, China – 400,000,000
Qingdao, China – 350,100,000
Dalian, China – 300,800,000
Hong Kong, China – 267,815,000
Qinhuangdao, China – 257,000,000
Busan, South Korea – 241,132,000
Houston, USA – 225,000,000
Port of South Louisiana, USA – 223,310,000
Shenzhen, China – 221,000,000
Rizhao, China – 221,000,000
