CONTAINER spot rates last week from China's port of Ningbo to Europe, West Mediterranean, and East Mediterranean declined on average by 13 per cent, 22 per cent, and nine per cent respectively.

However, the rates increased by 13 per cent to destinations in the Middle East, according to the Ningbo Shipping Exchange.

The weekly Ningbo Containerised Freight Index, which is now publishing its figures on the London-headquartered Baltic Exchange due to a new cooperation agreement, covers the movement of TEU, FEU and high cube containers and is a composite of the three box types.

The index covers Ningbo to East Mediterranean (Piraeus and Istanbul), West Mediterranean (Barcelona, Valencia, Genoa), Europe (Hamburg and Rotterdam) and the Middle East (Dammam and Dubai), reported Lloyd's Loading List.

It is based on transactional data from business conducted by a panel of 11 Ningbo-based freight forwarders on Ningbo Exchange's e-trading platform and factors in various surcharges including bunkers, port congestion, peak season and Suez Canal fees.