NEW DELHI: Major Ports in July continued the steady growth trend that began with the fiscal year as traffic rose 5 percent year-over-year to 752,000 TEUs.
Those gains are being led by India’s top container gateway, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), where growth is accelerating and lifting national throughput.
JNPT handled 401,923 TEU during the month, up 5.4 percent from 381,561 in July 2016, despite disruption from monsoon weather and the Maersk Group cyberattack.
Elsewhere in India, throughput at the Chennai Port in July increased almost 6 percent year-over-year to 133,000 TEU, reflecting that productivity efforts to recapture cargo lost to nearby private rivals are progressing. However, the opening of an Adani Group-built terminal at the Ennore Port, just 15 miles away, could pose a challenge to Chennai’s turnaround efforts.
July volumes at other Major Ports were as follows: Kolkata, flat at 65,000 TEUs; Tuticorin, or V.O. Chidambaranar, up 5 percent from 55,000 TEUs to 58,000 TEUs; Cochin, or DP World-operated Vallarpadam Terminal, up 8 percent from 38,000 TEUs to 41,000 TEUs; and Visakhapatnam, down 6 percent from 34,000 TEUs to 32,000 TEUs, according to the collected data.
On a year-to-date basis, throughput at Major Ports reached 3 million TEU, 6.2 percent higher than volumes handled in the April-to-July period of 2016, with JNPT contributing 1.61 million TEU, up 5.6 percent from 1.52 million TEU, and Chennai racking up 527,000 TEU, up 4.5 percent from 504,000 TEU, data show.
Source: Dailyshippingtimes.com
