Major ports’ container volume falls in 1st half

Container volume at major ports in India tumbled 4.5 per cent year-over-year in the first half of fiscal year 2013-14, but total cargo throughput was up 2.3 per cent, according to preliminary figures released by the Indian Ports Association (IPA).

Country’s 12 government-owned major ports handled 3.8 million Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEU) in the April to September period, down from 3.9 million TEU in the same period previous year. Containerised cargo tonnage slipped 5 per cent from a year earlier to 57.8 million tonne (mt).

The Port of Jawaharlal Nehru (Nhava Sheva), IndiaÂ’s biggest container port, moved 2.06 million TEU, down 4 per cent from a year earlier. Container traffic at the Port of Chennai totaled 757,000 TEUs, down 6 per cent from 804,000 TEU.