Following the foreign trade vehicle throughput in September and the number of foreign trade ro-ro vessel calls in October each surpassing the total volume of the entire previous year, Shanghai South Port terminal has once again reached a milestone, with its vehicle throughput exceeding one million for the first time. As of November 24, the vehicle throughput at Shanghai South Port terminal for 2025 has exceeded 1.01 million vehicles, surpassing the total volume of last year.
At 10 a.m., vehicles from brands such as Jianghuai, Chery, MG, Dongfeng, and King Long sequentially drove onto the Panamanian-flagged ro-ro ship “Claire”. During its port stay, the vessel will load over 1,980 large, medium, and small vehicles for export to the port of Iquique, Chile. Vessel schedule information provided by the Yangshan Border Inspection Station shows that two other large foreign trade ro-ro ships are scheduled to call at the port at 14:00 and 15:00, expected to load over 2,200 vehicles for export. In the terminal storage yard, various types of vehicles including engineering vehicles, buses, and new energy vehicles are neatly lined up, awaiting shipment. Multiple vessels calling simultaneously and large-scale operations have become the norm at South Port terminal.
The highly efficient vehicle collection and distribution turnover capacity of Shanghai Port is attracting major automobile companies to locate their ro-ro business here. Data from the terminal operating company Haitong Lingang shows that since the beginning of this year, the volume of foreign trade import and export vehicles has reached 614,000 units, a year-on-year increase of over 40%, with export growth reaching 37%. Concurrently, over 100,000 imported vehicles have been transshipped at the terminal, an 11% year-on-year increase. Lu Yu, the duty manager at Haitong Lingang, stated that Haitong coordinates operational staff across the two ports and three locations in Shanghai and Taicang. When the workload is high in one port area, staff from other port areas provide support to ensure operational progress and vessel schedules. The current average daily workload is around 3,000 units, and can exceed 5,000 units per day during peak periods.
Currently, the second phase of South Port has begun trial calls by foreign trade ro-ro vessels. After it becomes fully operational in the future, the volume of vessel and personnel clearance at the terminal is expected to increase further. In response to the terminal’s characteristics of many vessel calls at night, short berthing times, and fast berth turnover, the Yangshan Border Inspection Station, while maintaining all-weather duty to achieve immediate inspection upon vessel arrival, has further moved the border inspection application window forward to facilitate various procedures. Simultaneously, it has updated its software and hardware facilities to enhance the perception capability of vessel /departure dynamics and ro-ro operation progress, ensuring “zero wait” for vessel berthing operations and “zero delay” upon departure.
