In the first quarter of 2026, the throughput of goods at Hong Kong port increased by 2.2% year-on-year to reach 42 million tonnes.

On June 2, the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department released the statistics for the first quarter of 2026 regarding the number of ships, port cargo, and containers. The throughput of Hong Kong port cargo in the first quarter of 2026 increased by 2.2% compared to the same period one year ago, reaching 42 million metric tons. Among these, incoming port cargo and outgoing port cargo increased by 0.7% and 4.4% respectively compared to the same period one year ago, reaching 24.7 million metric tons and 17.4 million metric tons. In the first quarter of 2026, the seasonally adjusted throughput of port cargo increased by 1.2% compared to the previous quarter. Among these, incoming port cargo increased by 3.5% compared to the previous quarter, while outgoing port cargo decreased by 1.9%. Port Cargo In the first quarter of 2026, sea freight cargo decreased by 2.3% compared to the same period one year ago, reaching 25.3 million metric tons, while river freight cargo increased by 9.8%, reaching 16.7 million metric tons. In comparison to the same period one year ago, the main countries/regions with double-digit increases in weight of incoming port cargo were Japan (up by 17.4%). On the other hand, Chile (down by 27.4%), Vietnam (down by 15.6%), and Thailand (down by 10.1%) recorded double-digit decreases. In the outgoing port cargo, the main countries/regions with double-digit increases in weight were Brazil (up by 33.9%). Thailand (down by 35.5%) and Australia (down by 11.4%) recorded double-digit decreases. In comparison to the same period one year ago, the main products with double-digit changes in weight of incoming port cargo were "stone, sand, and gravel" (up by 11.2%), "petroleum, petroleum products and by-products" (up by 10.2%), and "synthetic resins and plastics" (down by 12.2%). In the outgoing port cargo, the main products with double-digit changes in weight were "stone, sand, and gravel" (up by 26.5%) and "pulp and waste paper" (down by 20.6%). Containers In the first quarter of 2026, Hong Kong's ports handled 3.14 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers, a decrease of 7.0% compared to the same period one year ago. Among these, loaded containers and empty containers decreased by 2.0% and 22.9% respectively, reaching 2.53 million TEUs and 0.61 million TEUs. Among the loaded containers, incoming and outgoing containers decreased by 3.1% and 0.7% respectively, reaching 1.34 million TEUs and 1.18 million TEUs. The seasonally adjusted throughput of loaded containers increased by 4.9% compared to the previous quarter. Among these, incoming and outgoing loaded containers increased by 4.8% and 5.0% respectively. In the first quarter of 2026, sea freight loaded containers decreased by 3.7% compared to the same period one year ago, reaching 1.75 million TEUs, while river freight loaded containers increased by 2.0%, reaching 0.77 million TEUs. Arriving Vessels In the first quarter of 2026, compared to the same period one year ago, the number of arriving oceangoing vessels increased by 6.5% to reach 4,797 vessels, with a total capacity increase of 6.1% to reach 75.1 million gross tons. At the same time, the number of arriving river vessels increased by 1.6% to reach 20,120 vessels, with a total capacity increase of 7.1% to reach 24.7 million gross tons.