China’s Liner Shipping Connectivity Index hit 1,347.6 in September 2026, more than double the scores of second-ranked South Korea at 633.0 and Singapore at 626.7. The figures come from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and they show the gap at the top of container shipping is still growing.
What the index measures
The index gauges how well a country is plugged into container-shipping networks, using vessel calls, port capacity, carrier and service availability, the largest ship size and the number of countries reached through direct services. For shippers it is a practical number. A high score means more direct sailings, more carrier options, larger vessels and better schedule resilience when disruption forces rerouting. Waybill Wire noted that exporters in China enjoy the densest menu of departures in the market, while cargo moving through less-connected markets pays through transshipment time, extra handling and weaker negotiating leverage.
The ranking
UNCTAD said China’s advantage has held since 2023 and widened through September. South Korea and Singapore slipped slightly from August but stayed above their levels a year earlier. The United States and Malaysia took fourth and fifth place. Both improved on August but sat below September 2025. Eight Asian economies, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan, India, Hong Kong and Taiwan, were among the world’s 15 best-connected in the third quarter.
By region, the United States led North America, Spain led Europe, Egypt led Africa and Panama led Latin America and the Caribbean. China and Panama improved on a year earlier; the United States, Spain and Egypt kept their regional leads despite lower scores.
Big swings at the margins
Major hubs moved little, but smaller and less-connected economies showed the sharpest changes. Venezuela rose 91.4% from the third quarter of 2025, Saint Pierre and Miquelon 89.3% and Syria 79.7%. Persian Gulf hostilities pushed Qatar down 65.3%, Bahrain 60.6% and Iraq 56%. Losses outnumbered gains in the quarter, UNCTAD said, and it cautioned that percentage moves look larger when a country starts from a low base.
Bilateral links
In the first quarter of 2026, the strongest bilateral connections clustered among nearby trading economies, especially in Asia. China’s links with South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia ranked among the world’s top five, and UNCTAD said China-related connections in Asia have strengthened over two decades to exceed many other corridors. The United Kingdom-Belgium and United Kingdom-Netherlands short-sea routes also stayed in the top five, though they were once the strongest of all.
Waybill Wire added that the pattern has persisted through the 2021 port congestion, the Red Sea diversions and repeated carrier network changes, with the largest ships still anchored on services calling at Chinese ports.
Sources
- New UN data: China widens lead in liner-shipping connectivity
- China Extends Lead in Global Liner Shipping Connectivity, UN Data Shows
