Container Cranes

Container cranes are the critical link between the waterside and landside, including truck and rail connections and container yards used for short-term storage. Cranes move containers to and from the ship and shore. The number and size of cranes affect the number and size of container vessels that a terminal can service simultaneously. The top 25 container ports operated a total of 539 ship-to-shore gantry cranes in 2023, up 11 from 504528 in 2021. Of ship-to-shore gantry cranes, 322 are classified as super post-Panamax, which are the most capable. This is an increase from 294 super post-Panamax cranes reported in last year’s report. Many ports are replacing cranes with super post-Panamax cranes, decreasing the number of other types of cranes from 234 in 2022 to 217 in 2023.

[1] Georgia Ports Authority, GPA to renovate Ocean Terminal docks (12/5/22), available at GPA to renovate Ocean Terminal docks (gaports.com) as of January 2023.

[2] U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics and Maritime Administration analysis, based upon individual port authority and marine terminal operator websites, including links to terminal-specific websites as of July 2022.