Shanghai's Yangshan Port Phase IV, the world's largest automated container terminal, has repeatedly set global productivity records since opening in 2017, with its fastest crane handling over 60 containers per hour.

Yangshan Port Phase IV is packed with containers. [Photo/WeChat ID: shlgguanweihui]

Behind such speed is a "smart brain" — the terminal's self-developed intelligent control system, which uses digital-twin technology to monitor and coordinate operations in real time. It centrally dispatches 29 quay cranes, 121 rail-mounted gantry cranes, and 155 automated guided vehicles, boosting overall efficiency by around 30 percent compared with traditional operations.

The terminal also boasts the world's first F5G all-optical network for remote control of large equipment, which allows operators to precisely maneuver the cranes from a control center more than 30 kilometers away, or even from downtown Shanghai over 100 kilometers away.

Moreover, a two-level layout separates automated and conventional trucks: driverless trucks swap batteries and depart from the upper level, while conventional trucks operate below. The setup reduces empty runs and eases traffic on the Donghai Bridge.

In 2025, Yangshan Port Phase IV handled more than 8 million twenty-foot equivalent units, with its shoreline utilization efficiency ranking among the world's leading automated terminals.