Ningbo volume up 17% through September

Ningbo volume up 17% through September The Port of Ningbo has seen throughput rise 17 percent to 8.1 million TEUs through the first three quarters of 2008.
   The increase could put Ningbo on course to break the 10 million-TEU barrier this year, provided a global economic slowdown doesn’t dent volumes too much the remainder of the year. It could also crack the top 10 biggest container ports in the world in 2008.
   Ningbo has been one of the fastest growing ports in China the past few years, creating competition for the nearby Port of Shanghai, which could soon become the busiest port in the world. But Shanghai officials are now predicting growth for the year to be 5 percent less than first estimated at the beginning of 2008, mostly due to a downturn in consumer export demand, so Ningbo’s growth is also likely to be affected.