Up Front
Infrastructure and automation improvements have helped port operators, but there is still more work to be done.
A new No. 1 leads off this year’s Transport Topics Top 50 list of the world’s largest freight companies.
Get a continent-by-continent and country- by-country look at where the Top 50 Global Freight Companies are based.
Rankings
Port Data
| Rank | Port Name | City | Type of Freight | TEUs 2022 | TEUs 2021 | % Change | Freight Tonnage (metric tons) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Port of Los Angeles | Los Angeles | container, break bulk, dry bulk, liquid bulk, automotive, heavy lift, special project cargo, refrigerated, passenger | 9,911,159 | 10,677,610 | -7.2% | 219,000,000* |
| 2 | Port of New York and New Jersey | New York | container, break bulk, dry bulk, liquid bulk, automotive, heavy lift, special project cargo, refrigerated, passenger | 9,493,664 | 8,985,929 | 5.7% | |
| 3 | Port of Long Beach | Long Beach, Calif. | container, break bulk, dry bulk, liquid bulk, automotive, heavy lift, special project cargo, refrigerated, passenger | 9,133,657 | 9,384,368 | -2.7% | 193,354,062 |
| 4 | Port of Savannah | Savannah, Ga. | container, break bulk, heavy lift, automobile, refrigerated | 5,892,131 | 5,613,163 | 5.0% | 38,459,904 |
| 5 | Ports of Colon, Cristobal and Manzanillo | Colón, Panama | container, liquid bulk, dry bulk, passenger, transshipping | 5,058,556 | 4,915,975 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Port Houston | Houston | container, break bulk, dry bulk, liquid bulk | 3,974,901 | 3,453,226 | 15.1% | 49,950,465 |
| 7 | Port of Virginia | Norfolk, Va. | container, break bulk, dry bulk, liquid bulk, automobile | 3,703,231 | 3,522,834 | 5.1% | 59,398,828 |
| 8 | Port of Vancouver | Vancouver, British Columbia | container, break bulk, dry bulk, liquid bulk, automobile, special project cargo, passenger | 3,557,294 | 3,678,952 | -3.3% | 142,469,186 |
| 9 | Port of Manzanillo | Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico | container, dry bulk, liquid bulk | 3,473,852 | 3,371,438 | 3.0% | 34,434,272 |
| 10 | Northwest Seaport Alliance | Seattle and Tacoma, Wash. | container, break bulk, liquid bulk, dry bulk, automobile, heavy lift, special project cargo, refrigerated, passenger, air cargo | 3,384,018 | 3,736,206 | -9.4% | 24,551,174 |
| 11 | Port of Balboa/PSA Panama International Terminal | Panama Int'l Terminals, Panama | container, transshipping | 3,347,861 | 3,561,432 | -6.0% | |
| 12 | Port of Charleston | Charleston, S.C. | container, break bulk, dry bulk, automobile, refrigerated | 2,792,313 | 2,751,442 | 1.5% | |
| 13 | Port of Oakland | Oakland, Calif. | container | 2,337,607 | 2,448,243 | -4.5% | |
| 14 | Port of Kingston | Kingston, Jamaica | container, heavy lift, liquid bulk | 2,137,500 | 1,975,401 | 8.2% | |
| 15 | Port of Montreal | Montreal | container, break bulk, dry bulk, liquid bulk, passenger | 1,722,704 | 1,728,114 | -0.3% | 35,997,337 |
| 16 | Port of Lázaro Cárdenas | Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, Mexico | container, break bulk, dry bulk, liquid bulk, transshipping | 1,700,000 | 1,686,076 | 0.8% | |
| 17 | Port of Freeport | Freeport, Bahamas | container, passenger | 1,574,200 | 1,642,780 | -4.2% | |
| 18 | Port of Caucedo | Caucedo, Dominican Republic | container, refrigerated, transshipping | 1,406,500 | 1,250,000 | 12.5% | |
| 19 | Port of San Juan | San Juan, Puerto Rico | container | 1,398,600 | 1,438,738 | -2.8% | |
| 20 | Port of Jacksonville^ | Jacksonville, Fla. | container, break bulk, dry bulk, liquid bulk, automobile, heavy lift, refrigerated | 1,298,132 | 1,407,310 | -7.8% | 9,101,666 |
| 21 | Port Miami^ | Miami | container, passenger | 1,197,663 | 1,254,062 | -4.5% | 9,267,587 |
| 22 | MoÃn Container Terminal | LÃmon, Costa Rica | container | 1,182,854 | 1,319,372 | -10.3% | |
| 23 | Port Everglades | Broward County, Fla. | container, break bulk, dry bulk, liquid bulk, passenger | 1,107,546 | 1,038,179 | 6.7% | 24,129,601 |
| 24 | Port of Baltimore | Baltimore | container, break bulk, dry bulk, liquid bulk, automobile, refrigerated, passenger | 1,069,421 | 1,022,683 | 4.6% | 10,307,241 |
| 25 | Port of Prince Rupert | Prince Rupert, British Columbia | container, break bulk, dry bulk, liquid bulk, special project cargo, passenger | 1,035,639 | 1,054,836 | -1.8% | 24,593,720 |
| NOTE: Data for the ports of Kingston, Freeport, Caucedo and San Juan are via PortEconomics. Data for the Port of Lázaro Cárdenas is via the American Journal of Transportation. All other data is via port authorities. * Freight tonnage for the Port of Los Angeles is for fiscal year 2021-22, ended June 30, 2022. ^ Data for the Port of Jacksonville and Port Miami is for fiscal year 2021-22, ended Sept. 30, 2022. |
|||||||
Extras
2022 saw an eastern shift in North American ocean freight, while airfreight dipped across the continent.
If your company appears on the list, you have a few ways to announce it. Visit our logo library to get web- and print-ready graphics.
Learn more about Transport Topics’ Top 50 Global Freight Companies publication.
Global Freight News
EV-Carrying Ship Sinks in Pacific Ocean After Catching Fire
A ship that caught fire in the Pacific Ocean earlier this month has sunk. The vessel was carrying about 3,000 vehicles, of which about 800 were EVs.
June 24, 2025Amazon Tells Employees to Relocate to Seattle, Other Hubs
Amazon is ordering some corporate employees to move closer to their managers and teams, roiling a workforce already worried about job cuts and warnings from the top that AI will shrink their ranks.
June 18, 2025Amazon Ramps Up Zoox Robotaxi Factory
Amazon is gearing up to make as many as 10,000 robotaxis annually at a sprawling plant near Silicon Valley as it prepares to challenge self-driving cab leader Waymo.Â
June 18, 2025Amazon’s Jassy: AI Will Reduce Company’s Corporate Workforce
Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy says he expects the company’s workforce to decline in the next few years as the retail and cloud-computing giant uses artificial intelligence to handle more tasks.
June 17, 2025Honda Debuts Four-Wheeled E-Bike for Last-Mile Delivery
Honda said June 17 it plans to start small-scale production this year of an all-electric quadricycle, called the FastPort eQuad, for last-mile delivery in North America and Europe.
June 17, 2025Oil Tanker Market Roiled by Israeli Airstrikes Against Iran
Israel’s airstrikes on Iran drove up freight rates and tanker stocks June 13 as traders and investors priced in the prospect of disruption to a large swath of the global oil-shipping fleet.
June 13, 2025Amazon, Walmart Consider Issuing Own Stablecoins: Report
Amazon and Walmart are among large multinational companies that have discussed issuing their own stablecoins in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified people.
June 13, 2025Amazon Exerts More Control Over Whole Foods
Amazon is exerting more control over Whole Foods Market, largely ending the independence the grocery chain had retained since being acquired eight years ago.
June 12, 2025XPO Opens Its Largest Facility, Employing 450 in Pennsylvania
XPO has opened its largest operation, a 273,000-square-foot facility on 121 acres near Carlisle, Pa., that is one of 28 former Yellow facilities that XPO purchased for about $800 million.
June 11, 2025EV-Carrying Ship Still on Fire Days After Blaze, Images Show
The fire on board the Morning Midas vessel continues to burn, its manager said June 10, after breaking out on June 3 on a deck carrying electric vehicles.
June 10, 2025Archives
-
2023
-
2022
-
2021
-
2020
-
2019
-
2018
-
2017
-
2016
-
2015
