JOC Staff | Dec 05, 2012 11:20AM EST
Container movements through major ports in India were relatively flat during April to November compared to the same period last year, the Indian Ports Association said in a statement on Wednesday.
Cumulative volume for the first eight months of fiscal 2012-13 totaled 5.16 million 20-foot-equivalent units, down from 5.18 million TEUs a year earlier. Containerized tonnage was estimated at 80 million tons, up from 79.5 million tons.
Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava Sheva), the country’s largest box gateway, handled 2.84 million TEUs, compared with 2.87 million TEUs in the year-ago period.
Container traffic at Chennai Port was also flat year-over-year, at 1 million TEUs.
Kolkata Port handled 402,000 TEUs, up 13 percent from 356,000 TEUs a year earlier.
Cochin’s volume fell 7 percent to 222,000 TEUs from 238,000 TEUs. Traffic at Mumbai Port increased to 42,000 TEUs from 40,000 TEUs.
According to the IPA, total cargo tonnage through major ports from April to November was 360 million tons, down 3 percent from 370.7 million tons in 2011.
Kandla Port was the top cargo handler with throughput of 61.7 million tons, followed by Nehru, 43 million tons; Visakhapatnam, 39.4 million tons; Mumbai, 38 million tons; and Chennai, 35.6 million tons.
For fiscal 2011-12, which ended March 31, India’s ocean trade via 12 major ports was estimated at 560 million tons, down 1.73 percent from 570 million tons the previous year.
Basd on latest traffic trends, it appears very unlikely major ports will reach the government’s throughput target of 601 million tons in fiscal 2012-13, ending March 31, 2013.
