Cargo is loaded and unloaded at the Qianwan container terminal in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, on Jan 14. [Photo by Yu Fangping/for China Daily]

Qingdao Port of Shandong Port Group recorded growth of its cargo and container throughput in the first quarter of this year, data from the Ministry of Transport showed.

Cargo throughput at Qingdao Port came in at 158 million metric tons in the first three months, up 2.9 percent year-on-year, ranking fourth in China, according to the ministry.

During the three-month period, Qingdao Port's container throughput expanded by 6.3 percent from a year ago to 5.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), surpassing Guangzhou Port and ranking fourth in China, the data showed.