Historic ports remain active measures of maritime change. In 2023, global maritime trade reached 12.3 billion tonnes, while major gateways recorded contrasting patterns in containers, bulk cargo, vessel calls, and waiting times. The figures below cover global forecasts and observations, 2024 port results, and longer fiscal-year series for Port Houston.
Contents
- Global maritime trade and port calls
- North American container gateways
- Los Angeles and Virginia in 2024
- European port throughput
- Port Houston container history
- Port Houston cargo tonnage
Global maritime trade and port calls
UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reported 12.3 billion tonnes of global maritime trade in 2023, an increase of 2.4% from 2022. UNCTAD projected growth of 2.0% for 2024 and average annual growth of 2.4% for 2024–2029. These are different kinds of figures: the 2023 number is an observed annual measurement, while the 2024 and 2024–2029 numbers are forecasts.
Containerized maritime trade grew 0.3% in 2023. For 2024, UNCTAD projected container-trade growth of 3.5%. The contrast shows why total maritime trade and container trade should not be treated as interchangeable measures. Total trade is reported in tonnes, while container activity is commonly described through trade growth, TEUs, or port calls.
Container-ship port calls reached about 260,000 worldwide in the second half of 2023, according to UNCTAD’s Review of maritime transport 2025. The regional distribution of those calls also shifted over the longer comparison period. Europe’s share fell from 21% in the first half of 2018 to 17% in the second half of 2024. Asia’s share rose from 59% to 63% over the same periods.
Port calls also carried a time-cost signal. Between December 2023 and March 2024, average port waiting time in developed economies reached 6.4 hours, a 23% increase. In developing economies, the average reached 10.9 hours, a 7% increase. These figures describe waiting time during a specified four-month period, not a universal annual average.
Sources: Review of Maritime Transport 2024 | UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and Review of maritime transport 2025.
North American container gateways
The 2024 results from three major North American gateways show different scales and operating profiles. The Port of Los Angeles reported 10,297,352.25 TEUs for calendar year 2024. Port Houston reported 4,139,991 container TEUs for the same calendar year, while the Port of Virginia reported 3,499,639 TEUs for fiscal year 2024. Calendar and fiscal years are retained as published and should not be read as identical reporting periods.
| Port and reporting period | Container measure | Published result |
|---|---|---|
| Port of Los Angeles, calendar 2024 | Total TEUs | 10,297,352.25 |
| Port Houston, calendar 2024 | Container TEUs | 4,139,991 |
| Port of Virginia, fiscal 2024 | TEUs | 3,499,639 |
The Port of Los Angeles increased total TEU volume by 19.32% compared with the prior year. Its 2024 total import TEUs were 5,364,209.45, including 5,356,680.15 loaded import TEUs. Total export TEUs were 4,933,142.80, while loaded exports totaled 1,494,201.30 TEUs. “Total import” and “total export” are preserved as the port presents them; they are not silently substituted for loaded-container measures.
Port Houston’s 2024 container result was an 8% increase from 2023. Refrigerated-cargo imports increased 15% during calendar year 2024. That percentage applies to refrigerated-cargo imports, not to the port’s complete container total.
The Port of Virginia processed 3,499,639 TEUs in fiscal year 2024, up 2% year over year. It handled 1,930,480 containers, up 1.4%. Loaded exports reached 1,139,925 TEUs, up 4.2%, and loaded imports reached 1,625,267 TEUs, up 3.6%. Rail container volume reached 784,597 containers, up 13%.
The Virginia results also include activity beyond container counts. The port recorded 1,733 ship calls in fiscal year 2024, up 5%. Breakbulk tonnage reached 283,817, up 112.1%. The published figures indicate a particularly large year-over-year increase in breakbulk, but they do not identify the cargo mix behind that change.
Sources: 2024 Port of Los Angeles Container Statistics, Virginia Completes FY 2024 with Growth in Cargo Volumes and Progress on Infrastructure Projects, and Port Houston Record-Breaking Volume in 2024.
Los Angeles and Virginia in 2024
The available measures reveal different balances between imports, exports, rail connections, and calls. Los Angeles reported 5,364,209.45 total import TEUs and 4,933,142.80 total export TEUs. Its loaded-export figure was 1,494,201.30 TEUs, showing why a port’s headline directional totals and loaded-only measures need separate labels.
Virginia’s fiscal-year report pairs 1,625,267 loaded import TEUs with 1,139,925 loaded export TEUs. It also records 784,597 rail containers and 1,733 ship calls. The port’s 13% rise in rail container volume was larger than its 2% increase in total TEUs, while its 5% increase in ship calls was also above the headline TEU growth rate.
These comparisons are descriptive rather than a ranking of efficiency. The sources use different reporting periods, units, and definitions. Los Angeles publishes decimal TEU values in its historical statistics, Virginia reports both TEUs and containers, and Virginia’s year is fiscal 2024. Those distinctions matter when reading historic-port statistics across jurisdictions.
European port throughput
Europe’s large gateways reported mixed 2024 results. The Port of Rotterdam handled 435.8 million tonnes of total throughput, down 0.7% from 2023. Its container throughput reached 13.8 million TEUs, up 2.8%, and 133.4 million tonnes, up 2.5%. Rotterdam’s dry-bulk throughput grew 5.7% to 29.7 million tonnes.
Other Rotterdam segments declined. Liquid-bulk throughput fell 2.7% to 200 million tonnes, crude-oil throughput fell 4.5% to 97.8 million tonnes, and breakbulk throughput declined 3.7%. The combination of a slight fall in total throughput and growth in containers illustrates how a port-wide total can conceal different cargo trajectories.
Port of Antwerp-Bruges handled 277.7 million tonnes of total throughput in 2024, up 2.3%. Container throughput increased 8.9% by tonnage and 8.1% by TEU. The port recorded 20,195 seagoing-vessel calls, up 0.2%. At Zeebrugge, 187 cruise ships carried 557,000 passengers in 2024.
The Port of Hamburg handled 7.8 million TEUs in 2024, up 0.9% from 2023. Loaded containers accounted for about 87% of that throughput, equal to 6.8 million TEUs and up 1.2%. Total goods handled reached 111.8 million tonnes, down 2.1%.
| European port or segment, 2024 | Measure | Result and change |
|---|---|---|
| Rotterdam total throughput | Million tonnes | 435.8, down 0.7% |
| Rotterdam containers | Million TEUs | 13.8, up 2.8% |
| Antwerp-Bruges total throughput | Million tonnes | 277.7, up 2.3% |
| Hamburg containers | Million TEUs | 7.8, up 0.9% |
| Hamburg total goods | Million tonnes | 111.8, down 2.1% |
Sources: Cargo throughput in the port of Rotterdam slightly decreased in 2024, Annual figures for Port of Antwerp-Bruges show growth despite challenging times, and Port of Hamburg: Growth in container throughput and rail transport.
Port Houston container history
Port Houston’s fiscal-year container series shows expansion from 2015 through 2022, followed by a lower 2023 result. The reported unit is thousand TEUs. The series was 2,131 thousand TEUs in fiscal 2015, 2,183 in 2016, 2,459 in 2017, 2,700 in 2018, and 2,987 in 2019.
The fiscal 2020 result was 2,989 thousand TEUs. It was followed by 3,453 thousand in 2021 and 3,975 thousand in 2022. The 2023 figure was 3,825 thousand TEUs. These are the published annual-series values, and the source’s fiscal-year basis should remain attached to every comparison.
| Fiscal year | Container volume (thousand TEUs) |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 2,131 |
| 2016 | 2,183 |
| 2017 | 2,459 |
| 2018 | 2,700 |
| 2019 | 2,987 |
| 2020 | 2,989 |
| 2021 | 3,453 |
| 2022 | 3,975 |
| 2023 | 3,825 |
The sequence contains both gradual and abrupt movements. From fiscal 2015 to fiscal 2016, the reported volume rose from 2,131 to 2,183 thousand TEUs. It reached 2,987 thousand in 2019 and was nearly unchanged at 2,989 thousand in 2020. It then reached 3,975 thousand in 2022 before the 3,825-thousand result in 2023. No cause is assigned here because the supplied annual table does not provide one.
Source: Port of Houston Authority Annual Comprehensive Financial Report 2024.
Port Houston cargo tonnage
Port Houston’s second long-run series measures total revenue tonnage including Bayport companies. The unit is thousand short tons, and the reporting period is fiscal year. The series began at 45,168 thousand short tons in fiscal 2015 and was 44,839 thousand in 2016 and 44,281 thousand in 2017.
Tonnage then reached 46,679 thousand short tons in 2018 and 48,142 thousand in 2019. Fiscal 2020 was 46,853 thousand short tons. The series rose to 51,938 thousand in 2021 and 62,754 thousand in 2022, then stood at 58,831 thousand in 2023 and 61,814 thousand in 2024.
| Fiscal year | Total revenue tonnage including Bayport companies (thousand short tons) |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 45,168 |
| 2016 | 44,839 |
| 2017 | 44,281 |
| 2018 | 46,679 |
| 2019 | 48,142 |
| 2020 | 46,853 |
| 2021 | 51,938 |
| 2022 | 62,754 |
| 2023 | 58,831 |
| 2024 | 61,814 |
The tonnage series and container series describe different dimensions of the port. Containers are counted in TEUs, while revenue tonnage is counted in short tons and includes Bayport companies. Their year labels are both fiscal years, but their units and coverage are not interchangeable. In 2024, the tonnage series reached 61,814 thousand short tons; Port Houston’s separate calendar-year announcement reported 4,139,991 container TEUs.
Reading the two series together helps preserve the port’s historical scale without collapsing unlike measures. Container volume reached its listed high of 3,975 thousand TEUs in fiscal 2022 within the supplied series, while total revenue tonnage reached 62,754 thousand short tons in fiscal 2022 and 61,814 thousand in fiscal 2024. The figures are reported measurements, not a claim that one measure explains the other.
Source: Port of Houston Authority Annual Comprehensive Financial Report 2024. The annual-series table is explicitly reported in thousands and covers fiscal years.