The container throughout of inland ports in Huzhou amounts to 113,700 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in the first quarter of this year, up 6.5 percent year-on-year. [Photo/hz66.com]

The container throughout of inland ports in Huzhou amounted to 113,700 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in the first quarter of this year, up 6.5 percent year-on-year, statistics from the Huzhou municipal port and navigation management center show.

The city ranked first in East China's Zhejiang province in terms of container volume handled by inland ports.

Over the three-month period, a total of 55,300 TEUs were shipped outside from Huzhou specifically.

The city had managed to help foreign trade companies sustain growth despite the global shortage of containers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was achieved by measures like implementing the short-term subsidy policy and strengthening coordination between ports in the city to improve the circulation efficiency of containers.

A staff member at Anji Shanggang International Port Services Co Ltd said that the number of empty containers has been increasing recently, while logistics costs have also fallen.

This year, Huzhou has set the goal of increasing its cargo and container throughput at ports to 120 million metric tons and 580,000 TEUs respectively.