In the bustling Yangtze River Delta region, Shanghai Port and Ningbo Port stand as two major hubs, each with distinct characteristics and notable differences in their operational procedures.
Bill of Lading Processing: At Shanghai Port, shipping containers' bills of lading are typically printed by the trucking companies themselves, with some data fields occasionally left blank for factories to complete. In contrast, Ningbo Port requires freight forwarders to uniformly print these documents, which truck drivers must then collect in person.
Data Management: Shanghai Port maintains strict requirements for consistency between port entry data, customs declaration data, and manifest data. Any discrepancies may lead to container rejection, though volume measurements are treated with more flexibility. Ningbo Port adopts a more lenient approach in this regard, offering greater operational flexibility.
Manifest Processing: Shanghai Port can transmit data to its Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system immediately after confirming shipping space and bill of lading numbers. Ningbo Port, however, requires container number information before EDI transmission, resulting in slightly delayed processing times compared to its Shanghai counterpart.
Customs Clearance Procedures: The two ports demonstrate different approaches to customs processing. Shanghai's Yangshan Port follows a "declare first, enter later" sequence, while Waigaoqiao Port reverses this order. Ningbo Port uniformly requires containers to arrive at port and obtain arrival reports before initiating customs declarations.
These procedural comparisons clearly illustrate the unique operational characteristics of China's two major coastal gateways, each optimized for different logistical needs within the world's busiest shipping region.
