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Global container traffic reached a record 192.9 million TEUs in 2025, data from Container Trades Statistics Ltd. showed
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December volumes rose 2.6% month on month and 4.7% year on year to 16.97 million TEUs, setting another monthly record
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Eight months in 2025 exceeded 16 million TEUs, underscoring sustained strength in global container trade
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The Far East remained the largest exporting region, while Europe, Africa and the Middle East led import growth
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Container prices remained subdued despite record volumes, signaling a potential shift in volume-price dynamics
Global container traffic climbed to an all-time high of 192.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2025, capping a record-breaking year marked by sustained volume growth and muted pricing, according to data from Container Trades Statistics Ltd (CTS).
December closed the year with another record month, with global liftings reaching 16.97 million TEUs, just shy of the 17 million mark. Volumes rose 2.6% from November and were 4.7% higher than December 2024, which had also been a record month at the time.
The December performance capped a year in which eight out of 12 months exceeded 16 million TEUs, a threshold reached only three times in 2024.
READ: Global container volumes hit 16.6M TEUs in Nov 2025
New monthly records were set in March, May, August and December, highlighting the strength and consistency of demand throughout the year.
Despite surging volumes, container pricing showed limited movement. The Global Price Index rose by two points in December to close the year at 77 points, but remained 19.8% lower than at the end of 2024.
Over the course of 2025, the index fluctuated by just 21 points, compared with a 35-point range in 2024, suggesting a weakening link between volume growth and pricing, according to CTS.
On the export side, the Indian Sub-Continent and Middle East posted the strongest percentage growth, with volumes up 9% year on year, equivalent to an additional 1.2 million TEUs.
Sub-Saharan Africa and South and Central America were the main beneficiaries of this increase, recording the largest proportional gains in imports from the region.
In absolute terms, the Far East remained the dominant exporting region, increasing shipments by nearly 7 million TEUs from 2024 levels. Intra-Far East trade rose 5% year on year and emerged as the largest trade lane in 2025, more than double the size of the Far East-North America route.
Import growth was strongest in Sub-Saharan Africa, South and Central America, the Indian Sub-Continent and Middle East, and Europe, which recorded increases of 18%, 10%, 9% and 7%, respectively.
European imports were driven largely by a 9% rise in cargo originating from the Far East, with monthly liftings on the route reaching up to 1.8 million TEUs, the highest levels on record.
The surge widened the import-export imbalance on the Far East-Europe trade lane, with the ratio increasing to 3.3:1 at the end of 2025 from 2.9:1 a year earlier.
North America was the only region to post an overall decline in imports, with volumes falling 2% year on year amid lower Far East exports and stagnant flows from Europe.
Global container volumes have risen steadily in recent years, from 172.1 million TEUs in 2022 and 173 million in 2023 to 184.3 million in 2024, before accelerating to 192.9 million TEUs in 2025.
CTS said that while the industry enters 2026 facing uncertainties linked to Red Sea and Suez Canal adjustments, the latest data point to a sector that continues to expand and adapt despite geopolitical and operational challenges.
