Cargo volume at 12 major ports up by 6.3% in April 2017

The Dollar Business Bureau

April 2017 saw an increase in cargo movement at India's 12 major ports, which handled a total capacity of 55.75 million tonnes (mt) during the month. An increase of 6.27% was recorded, in comparison with the cargo volume reported in April 2016, which stood at 52.46 mt.

The increase in cargo traffic was attributed to the rising demand demonstrated for raw materials like iron ore and coking coal. During the month, Iron ore volumes spiked by 40% to 5.37 mt while coking coal traffic grew by 15% to 4.61 mt.

Demand in the container traffic sector also shot up, as a result of which volumes rose by 9.78% to 7 lakh TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units). POL (petrol, oil and lubricants) also witnessed a rise of 7% in cargo volume.

Among all ports, Kandla port topped the list with highest traffic at 9.32 mt, followed by second place secured by Paradip Port at 7.33 mt. While JNPT Port landed the third highest volume of 5.75 mt, Mumbai's cargo traffic totaled 5.33 mt, and Visakhapatnam grossed volumes of 4.92 mt.

Data released made a mention of Kolkata Port, which handled 4.23 mt (inclusive of Haldia), and the Chennai port was noted to have undertaken 3.93 mt of cargo transport.

Both domestic and global demand changes have an impact on the volume of cargo, which reflects trends in the commodity markets. India is home to 12 big ports which handle majority of the country's cargo volume (around 60%): Kandla, Paradip, JNPT, Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, V O Chidambarnar, Ennore, New Mangalore, Marmugao, Cochin, Chennai and Kolkata. During the fiscal year 2016-17, these 12 ports managed by the Ministry of Shipping, handled a net volume of 647.43 mt, registering a growth of 6.8% year on year.