The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has released the latest update for the third quarter of 2025 of the Liner Shipping Connectivity Index (LSCI), the index that monitors the degree of integration of nations into the global network of containerized maritime transport services.
Italy maintains an overall stable trend, with an index of 289.88 points and an increase of just 2.6 percentage points compared to the same quarter of the previous year. The Bel Paese ranks fifth in Europe, behind Spain (421.13), the Netherlands (378.71), Belgium (with an index of 344.03) and Germany (323.26), and ahead of France (261.28), Greece (176.23), Malta (110.56), Slovenia (77.16) and Croatia (62.53).
The index compiled by UNCTAD, set at 100 relative to the country’s average connectivity value in the first quarter of 2023, takes into account six factors: the country’s annual container handling capacity, the number of regular liner services to and from the country, the number of scheduled weekly calls in the country, the number of other countries connected to the country via direct liner services (which do not require transhipment operations), the hold capacity of the largest container ship employed in services to and from the country, the number of shipping companies employed in services calling the country.
The same analysis referring to the level of integration of ports into the global network of containerized maritime services, the Port Liner Shipping Connectivity Index (PLSCI), highlights the excellent performances recorded by Asian ports and in particular by Shanghai, Ningbo-Zhoushan and Singapore, at the top of this special ranking, with a connectivity index of 2403, 2028 and 1822 points respectively.
All four ports recorded substantial growth between 2006 and 2025. Also in the top five are Busan (1659) and Qingdao (1364). “Despite disruptions, including port congestion, the COVID-19 pandemic and evolving trade patterns, these ports have consistently improved their performance over time. Their resilience reflects constant investments in port infrastructure, digital systems and intermodal integration, which have strengthened their role in global maritime networks and enabled continuous growth in liner shipping connectivity,” write the analysts of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
Among Italian ports, Genoa is the most connected with reference to the maritime transport of containerized loads. The Ligurian port has an index of 427.07, with a decrease of 0.87% compared to the second quarter of 2025 and an increase of 3.7% on an annual basis.
Second position for the port of Gioia Tauro, with an index of 328.06 (+2.15% on a quarterly basis, +3.8% on an annual basis). In third place is La Spezia with an index of 267.71 (-3.4% compared to the second quarter; +2% on an annual basis).
Followed by the ports of Salerno (index 212.82; +2.97% on a quarterly basis and +13.12% on an annual basis), Trieste (index 153.75; +0.3% on a quarterly basis and -1.48% compared to the third quarter of 2024), Livorno (index 152.85; +3.7% on a quarterly basis and -8.8% on an annual basis%), Vado Ligure (index 141.31; -0.02% and +61%), Naples (index 136.3; +0.04% and +3.78%), Venice (index 117.5; +5.61% and +4.45%), Ravenna (index 97.69; -0.75% and +14.8%), Civitavecchia (index 82.28; +0.18% and -4.19%), Ancona (index 77.29; -0.62% and +0.89%), Cagliari (index 34.47; +24.31% in both cases), Taranto (index 27.38; -0.14% and +28%) and Marina di Carrara (index 26.54; stable compared to the previous quarter and the same period in 2024).
