India's major ports container throughput down 6 percent in H1
Container throughput at major ports in India fell 6.32 percent during the first half of fiscal 2009-10 ending Sept. 30, according to latest traffic figures released by the Indian Ports Association on Thursday.
While most gateway hubs are still reporting lower volumes compared to the previous fiscal year, the declines have slowed in recent months and some ports are showing gains in overall traffic movements.
Consolidated box traffic at the 13 major ports was estimated at 3.3 million 20-foot equivalent units, down from 3.5 million TEUs in the year-ago period.
Throughput at Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s largest container port, suffered a marginal drop when volume decreased to 2 million TEUs from 2.1 million TEUs. Kolkata reported a modest turnaround, with volume totaling 241,000 TEUs compared with 233,000 TEUs a year earlier.
In comparison, major ports saw overall tonnage grow by 2.39 percent to 268 million tons from 262 million tons during the same six-month period in 2008-09.
The western Port of Kandla emerged as the country’s top cargo handler with throughput of 39.3 million tons.
In related news, Nehru said it placed orders for a super post-Panamax quay crane and a rail-mounted gantry crane as part of plans to upgrade its cargo-handling facilities. The new cranes are expected to be delivered by October 2010, and the purchase of three more quay cranes to replace old ones will begin once the bidding process is over, said S.S. Hussain, port chairman.
Persistent berthing delays, equipment breakdowns and other infrastructure problems earlier prompted port users to seek a reduction in Nehru's existing tariffs.
While most gateway hubs are still reporting lower volumes compared to the previous fiscal year, the declines have slowed in recent months and some ports are showing gains in overall traffic movements.
Consolidated box traffic at the 13 major ports was estimated at 3.3 million 20-foot equivalent units, down from 3.5 million TEUs in the year-ago period.
Throughput at Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s largest container port, suffered a marginal drop when volume decreased to 2 million TEUs from 2.1 million TEUs. Kolkata reported a modest turnaround, with volume totaling 241,000 TEUs compared with 233,000 TEUs a year earlier.
In comparison, major ports saw overall tonnage grow by 2.39 percent to 268 million tons from 262 million tons during the same six-month period in 2008-09.
The western Port of Kandla emerged as the country’s top cargo handler with throughput of 39.3 million tons.
In related news, Nehru said it placed orders for a super post-Panamax quay crane and a rail-mounted gantry crane as part of plans to upgrade its cargo-handling facilities. The new cranes are expected to be delivered by October 2010, and the purchase of three more quay cranes to replace old ones will begin once the bidding process is over, said S.S. Hussain, port chairman.
Persistent berthing delays, equipment breakdowns and other infrastructure problems earlier prompted port users to seek a reduction in Nehru's existing tariffs.