Piraeus container traffic soars 18% in August
Container throughput at the port of Piraeus remained strong in August, with a significant improvement recorded at Terminals II and III as the global market closely monitors the cautious resumption of services through the Suez Canal.
The situation, however, remains fragile, as the return of major containership operators to the Red Sea route is gradual. Security in the region remains a key factor in liners’ decisions, with a significant share of capacity still deployed on longer routes around Africa.
According to data from COSCO SHIPPING Ports, container throughput at Terminals II and III of the Piraeus Container Terminal reached 372,100 TEUs in August, up from 315,500 TEUs in the same month of 2025, an annual increase of 18%.
Recovery
Strong performance in August points to an improvement following a prolonged period during which vessel diversions away from the Suez Canal disrupted Asia-Europe supply chains and, consequently, traffic at Eastern Mediterranean ports.
At the eight-month level, however, the recovery remained marginal. From January to August 2026, the two Piraeus terminals handled 2.718 million TEUs, compared with 2.716 million TEUs in the same period of 2025, an increase of just 0.1%.
The gap between the strong monthly performance and the virtually flat picture over the eight months reflects the scale of the pressure seen previously, as well as the importance of developments in Suez transits for the final four months of the year.
Meanwhile, reinforcement work is currently underway on the pavement at Piraeus Port’s Terminal I, aimed at increasing container stacking capacity and enhancing the terminal’s operational capacity.
Terminal I normally handles around 50,000 TEUs a month, but available container stacking capacity has been temporarily reduced during the works.
The interventions are aimed at upgrading the terminal’s infrastructure so that, once completed, it can accommodate a larger number of containers in its storage and handling areas.
Overseas terminals up 19.8%
In August, container throughput across COSCO SHIPPING Ports’ portfolio, excluding QPI and CTT, increased 6.9% to 10.968 million TEUs, from 10.260 million TEUs a year earlier.
In January-August, throughput rose 7.6% to 82.868 million TEUs from 76.984 million TEUs.
Overseas terminals posted particularly strong growth, with throughput rising 19.8% in August to 3.718 million TEUs.
Besides China, Antwerp recorded the highest annual increase among comparable terminals, at 20.9%, followed by Piraeus at 18%, Chancay in Peru at 16.8% and the Suez Canal Container Terminal at 15.6%.
In China, the biggest percentage increase was recorded in Taicang, where throughput nearly doubled, rising 95.2%, albeit from a low base.
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