In the first half of 2021, the demand of the Yangtze River shipping market remained stable, the handling capacity of ports grew fast, container transportation showed a strong momentum, and ports on main channels of the Yangtze River achieved a total cargo handling capacity of 1.72 billion tons, up 12.9 percent year on year and up 13 percent from the same period of 2019, according to the Changjiang River Administration of Navigational Affairs on August 23.

Ports on main channels of the Yangtze River showed the feature of "full recovery and fast growth" in the first half of 2021. According to data, the handling capacity of ports including Wuhan's Yangluo Port, Huangshi Port, Yichang Port and Jingzhou Port increased month by month from February to June and totaled up to a record 320 million tons in June. In terms of area, the growth of the handling capacity of ports in the middle reaches of the Hubei section of the Yangtze River was higher than that of ports in the lower reaches.

Foreign trade transportation growth was higher than domestic trade transportation growth. In the first half of 2021, ports on main channels of the Yangtze River, including those in Hubei, registered a total cargo handling capacity of 240 million tons in foreign trade, up 15.9 percent year on year and up 3.5 percent from the growth of the total cargo handling capacity in domestic trade. The export growth of cargo was significantly higher than the import growth of cargo. Shipping on the Yangtze River is an economic barometer. High export growth shows a significant rise in the activity of the regional economy.

Container transportation grew enormously. Ports on main channels of the Yangtze River registered a total container handling capacity of 11.09 million TEUs in the first half of 2021, up 29.4 percent year on year and up 18.5 percent from the same period of 2019, including 4.9 million TEUs for foreign trade, up 35.1 percent year on year. Meanwhile, rail-water container transport in cities such as Chongqing, Wuhan and Jiujiang kept surging to boost the volume of rail-water container transport on main channels of Yangtze River. In the first half of 2021, the total rail-water container transport volume of ports on main channels of the Yangtze River was up 64.6 percent year on year.

In terms of freight rates, the overall freight rates of dry bulk rose in the first half of 2021. With the acceleration of work and production resumption and the improvement of the water level of the Yangtze River after the Spring Festival, freight rates have risen steadily since March and grew significantly in June. Yangtze River Bulk Freight Index (YBFI) stood at 790.9 in June, up 15.5 percent year on year. The YBFI of mineral building materials and metallic ores in June was up 42.9 percent and up 13.4 percent year on year respectively. The YBFI of containers in June was 996.7, up 0.3 percent (almost even) year on year.