Shanghai’s Yangshan Port to Reduce Terminal Fees

I read a report stating that the Shanghai International Port Group will reduce terminal handling fees at the new Yangshan port by 20%. The current charge levied per TEU at the port is $370 RMB ($80 USD). The price cuts were implemented in order to attract additional business to the port which began operation in December of 2005. Since that time the port has handled approximately 1.06 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit).

I know that there are costs associated with operating the terminal and especially a terminal as new as Yangshan, however if Shanghai wants to continue it’s development as a major logistics hub in China, it has to be competitive. When I meet with various importers about shipping goods via Yangshan they always balk at the $80 terminal fee and inevitably ask about other options such as the other port in Shanghai and Ningbo.