A view of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, the world's busiest port by cargo throughput volume, in East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: zjhgwx]       

The cargo throughput of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port rose 5.6 percent year-on-year to 718 million metric tons from January to July, official data from the Zhejiang Port and Shipping Management Center showed.

Over the same period, the port handled 18.68 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), up 17.1 percent year-on-year

In July, the port opened six shipping routes, bringing its total number to 278. In addition, it launched 19 sea-rail freight routes, with businesses covering 60 prefecture-level cities across the nation.

The port has also made great efforts to promote digital upgrading. A number of technologies, such as 5G, autonomous driving, as well as artificial intelligence, have been applied in its Meishan port area and Jintang port area.

In addition, the port’s operator has also rolled out a number of preferential policies to relieve the shortage of containers in the market caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

About 4.3 million empty containers were supplied at the port in the first seven months of this year.

Stable growth was seen in the handling volume of iron ore, coal, liquefied oil products, and grain. From January to July, the port‘s throughput stood at 74.92 million tons, up 4.7 percent year-on-year.