The Shanghai port already ranks first in the world for its container throughput today, laying a solid foundation for building the Shanghai international shipping center. However, while its container throughput increases rapidly, Shanghai port is faced with many problems in the operation of the container transport market. How to shift the emphasis from “quantity” to a sustainable balance between “quality” and “quantity” has become a protruding issue that impedes the development of Shanghai international shipping center. This study sorts out the various circulation links involved in the container transport market and their corresponding circulation cost, and analyzes the circulation factors that prevent the container transport market from further development. It also elaborates on the standardization of market operation, market supervision and information transparency, and conducts follow-up study of the cargo transportation process in the container transport market in Asia, Europe, China and Japan.