Ships prepare to set out from the foreign trade container terminal of Qingdao Port in Shandong province. [Photo by Yu Fangping/For China Daily]

In the first month of 2020, Shandong Port Group's total cargo throughput increased by 6.3 percent year on year to 121 million tons, local authorities said.

Shandong Port Group, consolidated in August 2019, has integrated many of the province's major ports, including Qingdao Port, Yantai Port, Rizhao Port, and the Bohai Bay Port Group, in order to maximize port resources and eliminate regional competition.

Official statistics showed that in January, Shandong Port Group handled 2.58 million TEUs of containers, up 6.4 percent year on year. Just seven days before the Spring Festival holiday, its cargo throughput had reached 24.22 million tons, up 15.2 percent year on year, including 518,000 TEUs of containers, up 15.7 percent year on year.

According to official data, during the Spring Festival holiday, the average daily trains loaded at Qingdao Port reached 3,933, a year-on-year increase of 29.5 percent, while the average daily trains unloaded was 1,073, a year-on-year increase of 72.5 percent, both of which are new records.

In order to help prevent and control the novel coronavirus pneumonia, Shandong Port Group has strengthened cooperation with local railway departments to ensure a sufficient supply of vehicles, goods and containers and to promote railway transportation.

Shandong Port Group said that it has introduced fast lanes and special service windows to speed up the clearing process for imports related to epidemic prevention and control, playing its part in the battle against the coronavirus epidemic.

The group has purchased 10,000 sets of protective clothing and donated them to the Shandong branch of the Red Cross Society of China. It has also donated 10 million yuan ($1.43 million) to support the fight against the epidemic.