The number of shipping containers arriving in Melbourne increased in December, according to new figures from the Port of Melbourne Corporation.

Corporation chief executive Stephen Bradford said the rebound in trade was a positive sign because the number of containers was up 6.6 percent compared with December 2008, a period when the global financial crisis was hitting trade hard.

"We are always cautious about drawing conclusions on trends from one month's trade results but the signs are very encouraging,'' Bradford said.

"There were some horror stories about declining trade volumes earlier in 2009 in some international container ports, so December's trade figures, consistent with November, are a welcome result which we hope will be sustained."

More than 6200 containers were handled each day during December, with exports helping to boost total numbers.