The volume of containers handled by major ports in India slipped 1.45 percent year-over-year from April 2012 to January 2013, the first 10 months of fiscal year 2012-13, according to the Indian Ports Association.
Cumulative box volume fell to 6.43 million 20-foot-equivalent units from 6.52 million TEUs in the same period in the prior fiscal year. The tonnage of containerized traffic was relatively flat at 100 million tons.
The Port of Jawaharlal Nehru (Nhava Sheva), the country’s busiest container gateway, handled 3.54 million TEUs, down 2.5 percent from 3.63 million TEUs in the same period in fiscal 2011-12.
Traffic at Chennai Port was 1.3 million TEUs, declining slightly from 1.32 million TEUs a year ago.
Kolkata Port’s volume increased about 12.5 percent to 502,000 TEUs from 446,000 TEUs. Tuticorin’s throughput decreased to 394,000 TEUs from 398,000 TEUs.
Cochin Port, which suffered a two-week container trailer crew strike this month, handled 275,000 TEUs, down from 289,000 TEUs during April 2011 to January 2012.
The IPA said total cargo throughput at major ports from April 2012 through January 2013 fell nearly 3 percent to 453.7 million tons from 467 million tons for the same period in the prior fiscal year.
Kandla topped throughput at 78.15 million tons, followed by Jawaharlal Nehru, at 53.76 million tons; Visakhapatnam, at 49.15 million tons; Mumbai, at 48.5 million tons; Paradip, at 46.6 million tons; and Chennai, at 44.3 million tons.
In fiscal 2011-12, which ended March 31, 2012, India’s 12 state-owned major ports handled 560 million tons, down 1.73 percent from 570 million tons in 2010-11. Consolidated container throughput for 2011-12 was estimated at 7.77 million TEUs, up 3 percent from 7.54 million TEUs.
Based on current volume trends, major ports are unlikely to reach the target of 601 million tons set by the Shipping Ministry for fiscal 2012-13.
The Journal of Commerce
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