INDIA's major ports in April handled 519,000 TEU, indicating that container volumes were down 14 per cent from the same month a year ago at the nation's top 12 gateways, according to Indian Ports Association (IPA).
Yet in fiscal 2008-09 ended March 31, the IPA also reported, that aggregate box throughput at India's ports - large and small - totalled 6.85 million TEU, a rise from 6.71 million TEU in 2007-08.
Throughput at the Port of Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's largest container handling facility, slumped to 315,000 TEU in April, down from 365,000 TEU a year earlier.
Chennai, the second largest box hub, handled 88,000 TEU, down from 107,000 TEU. Volume at Tuticorin fell to 32,000 TEU from 38,000 TEU.
Kolkata Port registered marginal growth, with 41,000 TEU passing through the facility, up from 37,000 TEU for the same month last year.
The slowdown in India's container traffic comes at a time when several major ports plan to increase container handling capacity by building new terminals through private participation, reported Newark's Journal of Commerce.
Nehru Port recently issued a Request for Qualifications from interested bidders for the development of a fourth container terminal, while Chennai earlier invited bids for its proposed four million-TEU facility.
Dubai's DP World is currently building a US$500-million transshipment terminal at the southern Port of Cochin, which is expected to be completed towards the end of this year and would have annual box handling capacity of one million TEU.
Yet in fiscal 2008-09 ended March 31, the IPA also reported, that aggregate box throughput at India's ports - large and small - totalled 6.85 million TEU, a rise from 6.71 million TEU in 2007-08.
Throughput at the Port of Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's largest container handling facility, slumped to 315,000 TEU in April, down from 365,000 TEU a year earlier.
Chennai, the second largest box hub, handled 88,000 TEU, down from 107,000 TEU. Volume at Tuticorin fell to 32,000 TEU from 38,000 TEU.
Kolkata Port registered marginal growth, with 41,000 TEU passing through the facility, up from 37,000 TEU for the same month last year.
The slowdown in India's container traffic comes at a time when several major ports plan to increase container handling capacity by building new terminals through private participation, reported Newark's Journal of Commerce.
Nehru Port recently issued a Request for Qualifications from interested bidders for the development of a fourth container terminal, while Chennai earlier invited bids for its proposed four million-TEU facility.
Dubai's DP World is currently building a US$500-million transshipment terminal at the southern Port of Cochin, which is expected to be completed towards the end of this year and would have annual box handling capacity of one million TEU.