Cargo traffic at India’s major ports declined by 4.95% during the month of November to total 67.53 million tonnes. The figure is less than what was recorded for the same month last year when the traffic had stood at 71.05 million tonnes, as per the data released by the Indian Ports Association (IPA).
Among the 12 major ports controlled by the central government, two were exceptions- Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and Deendayal Port. Both the ports registered growth figures. JNPA, which is the country’s largest container port, witnessed a huge growth of 12.34% in cargo traffic. Deendayal Port also managed to clock a good year-on-year growth of 10.10%.
Still, however, during this period, a majority of other ports faced heavy declines. Mormugao port, for example, declined drastically in this period and had an aggregate decline measured at 29.64%. New Mangalore port was seen to have followed with a decline but considered relatively minor in terms of cargo volume handled with its decline estimated at 19%.
Moreover, other main ports in the regions, including Chennai, Visakhapatnam, and Mumbai, experienced traffic declines that were experienced during November when measured against the same month in previous years.
India’s major ports, which include a number of key locations such as Deendayal, formerly Kandla, along with Mumbai, JNPA, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Kamarajar, also known as Ennore, VO Chidambarnar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip, and Kolkata, which includes Haldia, are critical in handling much of the country’s maritime trade activities. The overall decline that has been seen in cargo traffic is indicative of wider economic trends and reflects a number of challenges that are currently faced within the logistics sector.
