Major ports traffic dips 11 months straight

The 12 major ports in India witnessed a considerable dip in cargo traffic for the 11th consecutive month in February this year, to 600.62 million tonne (mt), according to a report by the apex body of ports—Indian Ports Association (IPA). The IPA said in its latest report that cargo traffic at 12 major government-controlled ports dropped by 6.61% to 600.62 mt during April-February this fiscal, compared with 643.10 mt in the year-ago period. All ports saw negative growth, barring Mormugao and Paradip—which recorded a 30.93% and 0.27% increase in cargo handling to 19.28 mt and 102.90 mt, respectively. The central government-controlled 12 major ports that have been listed in the IPA report are: Chennai Cochin Deendayal (erstwhile Kandla) Kamarajar (earlier Ennore) Kolkata—Kolkata Dock System and Haldia Dock Complex Mormugao Mumbai New Mangalore Paradip VO Chidambaranar (formerly known as Tuticorin Port Trust) Visakhapatnam Cargo handling at Kamarajar Port (Ennore) dropped 23.29% during April-February to 22.23 mt, while ports like Mumbai and VO Chidambaranar saw their cargo volumes dropping by over 12% during the said period. Chennai and Cochin ports suffered a sharp decline of about 10%. JNPT saw a decline of 8.06% in cargo volumes, while Deendayal Port Trust and the two ports in Kolkata recorded a drop of over 6% in cargo volume. Cargo handling at Visakhapatnam and New Mangalore slipped 4.87% and 5.30%, respectively. Pandemic-induced declines were witnessed in the handling of containers, coal and petroleum, oil and lubricant (POL), among other commodities. These ports handle about 61% of the country's total cargo traffic. They handled 705 mt of cargo last fiscal. The Ministry of Ports Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) had told the Parliament earlier that there was a considerable decline in the total traffic, containers traffic and other traffic from March to August 2020, as compared to the corresponding months in 2019. As we have been reporting, freight shipping costs have skyrocketed, causing exporters to lose business from several countries. Image Source Also read: Cargo traffic at govt-run ports declines Also read: Expect delays in global supply chain, report says