In the April to September period, the 12 state-owned ports handled 3.8 million 20-foot-equivalent units, down from 3.9 million TEUs in the same period last year. Containerized cargo tonnage slipped 5 percent from a year earlier to 57.8 million tons.

The Port of Jawaharlal Nehru (Nhava Sheva), India’s largest container port, moved 2.06 million TEUs, down 4 percent from a year earlier. Box traffic at the Port of Chennai totaled 757,000 TEUs, down 6 percent from 804,000 TEUs.  Volume at the neighboring Port ofTuticorin climbed to 252,000 TEUs from 240,000 TEUs, and the Port of Kolkata handled 298,000 TEUs, down from 305,000 TEUs. Additionally, the volume of export and import containers handled by the Vallarpadam Transshipment Terminal, a DP World facility inCochin Port, was on par with last year, at 178,000 TEUs.

The Indian Ports Association said overall cargo tonnage at the 12 state-owned ports in the first fiscal half increased to 277.0 million tons from 270.6 million tons in the year-ago period, driven primarily by a 44 percent increase in coal traffic. The Port of Kandla was the top cargo handler, with throughput of 46 million tons, followed by Paradip, at 34 million tons; Nehru, at 31 million tons; Visakhapatnam, at 29 million tons; Mumbai, at 27.6 million tons; and Chennai, at 26.2 million tons.

The Journal of Commerce