The International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has released the latest edition of its World Ports Tracker 2026 — Sustainability and Market Trends, analyzing survey results from the association’s most-engaged member ports. The report is written by Professors Theo Notteboom and Thanos Pallis of the IAPH Risk and Resilience technical committee. This edition of the World Ports Tracker 2026 builds on the comprehensive upgrade completed in 2025, enabling comparative analysis between the two editions. The authors prepared the study within IAPH’s Risk & Resilience framework, continuing the association’s structured approach to documenting sustainability initiatives and market expectations in the port industry.
Together, the responding ports from IAPH’s membership handle more than 8.6 billion tons of maritime cargo and 372 million TEU. Respondents were questioned on the six areas of interest of the World Ports Sustainability Program (WPSP) and on their views on market prospects. The survey centers on these WPSP domains while seeking assessments of short-term demand and operational conditions from participating ports. In presenting the results, the Tracker offers a consolidated snapshot of how member ports describe their current priorities and expectations.
In addition to the survey responses, the IAPH report further gathers additional data on container port productivity and liner connectivity. These external indicators are sourced from UNCTAD/MDS and S&P Global. Their inclusion provides readers with the set of connectivity and productivity metrics that accompany the surveyed perspectives on sustainability and market outlook, as compiled for the 2026 edition. The combination of member input and these third-party datasets is documented within the report to frame the discussion on recent trends.
Access, membership and supporting materials
The IAPH World Ports Tracker 2026 is available exclusively to IAPH members through the Member Area of the association’s website, on the Risk & Resilience Committee page under the Technical Committees menu. According to IAPH, non-members can access a paid edition of the report via the organization’s products page. This access information specifies the location within the Member Area for those entitled to download the publication and indicates the commercial route available to other interested stakeholders.
IAPH has also made available a summary presentation of the World Ports Tracker 2026 — Sustainability and Market Trends, which can be downloaded, and an accompanying video presentation of the results by the authors, which can be viewed online. These materials allow readers to review the key points presented by Professors Notteboom and Pallis alongside the compiled findings. Members who face any issues with accessing the report are requested to contact s_yamamoto@iaphworldports.org. The announcement that the 2026 Tracker is available was first published by IAPH on its website.
