The shipping data came as the International Monetary Fund warned that China is vulnerable to the 'clear and present danger emanating from Europe'. Photo: ALAMYBy Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Shanghai shipping volumes contracted sharply in January as Europe's debt crisis curbed demand for Asian goods, stoking fresh doubts about the strength of the Chinese economy.
The shipping specialist Lloyd's List said container traffic through the Port of Shanghai - the world's largest - fell by 100,000 boxes in January from a year earlier, or 4pc. Volumes fell by over one million tonnes.
The figures may have been distorted by China's Lunar Year but there has been a relentless slide in the Shanghai transport data for months.
"China's shipping markets face grievous challenges," said the Shanghai International Shipping Institute. It acknowledged that the industry in the grip of downturn and likely to face a "worsening situation" in early 2012.
The biggest falls in container volumes have been on the Asia-Europe route.
The data came as the International Monetary Fund warned that China is vulnerable to the "clear and present danger emanating from Europe" and could see growth halve to roughly 4pc if the crisis escalates.
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