Indian Ports Move 14 Percent More Containers

Container traffic at major ports in India for the April-July period increased 14 percent over the same period last year, the Indian Ports Association said in a statement on Wednesday.

IPA estimated total volume for the first four months of fiscal 2010-11 at 2.5 million 20-foot equivalent units.

The ports of Jawaharlal Nehru (Nhava Sheva) and Chennai, which account for almost 75 percent of the country’s total exports and imports of containerized cargo, reported significant gains in traffic volume.

Nehru handled 1.5 million TEUs, up 14 percent from a year earlier. Traffic at Chennai surged 33 percent to 502,000 TEUs.

The volume of containers handled at other major ports also increased on a year-on-year basis, albeit at a slower pace.

The nation’s ports saw overall cargo tonnage grow 2 percent to 184 million tons. Kandla was the top cargo handler with throughput of 26.4 million tons.