BEIJING - The shortage of empty containers in China has eased as manufacturers have increased production capacity, vice-minister of transport Zhao Chongjiu said Thursday.

The monthly production capacity of Chinese container manufacturers has now reached 500,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), Zhao said at a press conference.

China's steady economic recovery has led to rapid increase in demand for containers in foreign trade transportation, Zhao said, adding that lower operating efficiency at overseas ports due to the epidemic makes it difficult to ship empty containers back to China.

In addition, the Suez Canal blockage and other factors have affected transportation capacity of major shipping routes and led to global rise in freight rates, said Zhao.

The Ministry of Transport will work with relevant parties to guide international liner companies to continuously increase shipping capacity on routes from the Chinese mainland, improve container turnover efficiency, and make sure international logistics supply chain is stable and smooth, Zhao added.

Last year, cargo throughput and container throughput at China's ports reached 14.55 billion tonnes and 260 million TEUs, respectively, ranking first in the world on both counts.