Container throughput in the Chinese port of Shenzhen in 2007 grew 14.2% year-on-year, securing its place as the world's fourth busiest container port.
According to the Shenzhen Municipal Government, Shenzhen handled 21.1 million TEUs in 2007.
The double-digit growth puts Shenzhen within reach of the third position currently being held by Hong Kong, which actually handled fewer containers in 2007 than in 2006.
According to the Hong Kong Port Development Council, Hong Kong container traffic slowed by 1.5% in 2007 to 23.88 million TEUs.
Reports attributed the decline in Hong Kong's throughput to the switch by shippers to ports in the southern Chinese ports of Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
Hong Kong had been the world's second busiest container port as recently as 2006 and was pushed into third position only last year by Shanghai.
Hong Kong lost its position as the world's busiest container port in 2005 when it was outperformed by Singapore.
Many industry players expect Shenzhen to be doing better than Hong Kong by end-2008.
Hong Kong is being overtaken by mainland ports as the city's industrial plants have moved across the border and further up the Pearl River Delta, where exporters are increasingly choosing Shenzhen as their port of call.
Hong Kong International Terminals, the largest port operator in Hong Kong, built a container terminal in Yantian in 1994 to capitalise on the movement of shipments to Shenzhen.
Shanghai has seen cargo handling at the port more than double in five years. Rapid development of the Chinese economy and the large industrial and trade base of the Yangtze River Delta region have propelled the growth.
Recent reports said that the Hong Kong Government has been urged to scrap plans for a new container terminal in view of the expansion of the neighbouring port of Shenzhen..
According to Christine Loh, chief executive of Civic Exchange and a former legislative council member, “Hong Kong needs to let go of areas where it has lost a competitive advantage.”
Hong Kong's public policy think-tank Civic Exchange issued an 'Alternative Policy Address' calling for a complete stop to construction of new container handling facilities.
“Shenzhen's container terminals will probably handle more tonnage than Kwai Chung in the near future. This should not worry us unduly as the process will be gradual and there will be no job losses in the foreseeable future, because tonnage remains high,” said Loh.
Loh called Hong Kong's cargo operations “a sunset industry” and pointed out that many Hong Kong terminal operators have invested heavily in the port of Shenzhen.