The World Bank has recently published the World Container Port Performance Index for the year 2022. This report is based on the evaluation of 348 terminals located on all continents. The main purpose of this index is to help identify improvement opportunities for terminals and ports, benefiting both public and private actors involved in international trade.
The performance of a port can be evaluated from several key aspects such as terminal capacity, space utilization, operating cost, connectivity, land services and ship waiting time. These fundamental elements are considered by the World Bank when preparing the world list of port performance.
The index is based on available empirical data and on objective information exclusively related to the time spent by ships in ports. However, these results should be interpreted as an indicative measure of container port performance and not as a definitive verdict.
The leaders of the world ranking of 2022
The survey carried out by the World Bank aims to serve as a reference point to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of stakeholders in the global economy. This includes governments, port authorities, operators and all private entities involved in trade, logistics and supply chain services.
In the report for the year 2022, the Chinese port of Yangshan, located in Shanghai, ranked first in the world ranking of port performance. The port of Salalah in Oman followed, ranking second. In third place was the Khalifa Port in the United Arab Emirates.
Regional highlights and the case of Montevideo
Regarding regional performance, the port of Cartagena in Colombia stood out as the best in its region and ranked fifth in the global ranking, among the 348 terminals evaluated.
On the other hand, the port of Algeciras in Spain obtained the best position among European ports, ranking 16th.
However, the port of Montevideo, Uruguay, did not achieve a good placement based on the parameters used by the World Bank. This port finished in place 304, descending 39 positions with respect to the list of the previous year.
When comparing its performance with other ports in the region, Montevideo was ranked below Rio Grande in Brazil (position 50), Saints in Brazil (position 114), Buenos Aires in Argentina (position 174) and Valparaiso in Chile (position 188).
