Colombo Port posts 5.7% growth in container volumes in first eight months of 2025

Container traffic at the Port of Colombo expanded by 5.7% year-on-year (YoY) to 5.43 million TEUs in the January–August 2025 period, up from 5.14 million TEUs during the same months of 2024, according to data released by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). Transshipment volumes continued to dominate, rising 3.8% to 4.35 million TEUs compared with 4.19 million TEUs a year earlier. Domestic container movements recorded stronger momentum, jumping 13.7% YoY to 858,324 TEUs from 754,834 TEUs in 2024.

In August alone, Colombo handled 741,124 TEUs—up 16.8% from 634,554 TEUs a year ago. Transshipment traffic climbed 16% to 592,413 TEUs, while domestic volumes edged up 3.2% to 113,615 TEUs. Overall cargo handled across Sri Lankan ports in the first eight months of 2025 reached 82.4 million metric tons, marking a 2.1% increase from 80.7 million metric tons during the corresponding period last year.