The Hindu Business Line : Exports to US from private box terminals up in July-Oct

Despite the rising rupee, all the three major private container terminals — Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal (NSICT), Chennai Container Terminal (CCT) and Tuticorin Container Terminal (TCT) — have reported an increase in exports to the US during July-October. “There was a no slowdown. In fact, all the ships to the US go full from Asia,” said an official of a leading shipping line.

Traffic down at US ports

On the contrary, traffic at the US major retail container ports dropped below last year’s levels for the second month in a row in September and is expected to continue either flat or below last year’s levels for the remainder of the peak shipping season, according to the monthly port tracker report released by the US-based National Retail Federation (NRF) and Global Insight.

The NRF represents an industry with more than 1.6 million US retail establishments.

The US ports handled 1.46 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in September, a 1.9 per cent drop from September 2006 volume. Similarly, August 2007 traffic was down 1.4 per cent from August 2006.

Slow pace

“Container traffic is expected to continue at a slow pace due to weakness in the US economy. Volumes will continue to decline, but all ports are rated low for congestion, as are truck and rail operations,” the Global Insight Economist, Mr Paul Bingham, said in a report available on the Web.

Export from NSICT increased by nearly 80 per cent to 20,565 TEUs during July-October — the peak period coming ahead of the Christmas-New Year holiday. Carpets, handicrafts, super store cargoes and leather goods are sent from Nhava Sheva, while textiles and garments are major shipments from Chennai and Tuticorin.

In value terms, India exported textiles, textile products and apparels worth $526 million during August 2007 and $446 million in July. China’s share was $3,800 million in September and $3,589 million in July, according to the US Department of Commerce.

“The low volumes at the US ports reflect retailers’ cautious expectations for sales during the holiday season. The numbers show that retailers are carefully managing their inventories so that supply won’t exceed demand,” Mr Jonathan Gold, Vice-President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy, NRF, said in the report.

CCT had the maximum share of Indian’s shipment to the US with 42,244 TEUs during July-October, a 4.64 per cent increase over last year’s 40,400 TEUs. TCT saw a 0.34 per cent growth to 13,184 TEUs (13,139 TEUs). The overall export volume for the period July to October from TCT increased by 18 per cent to 73,046 TEUs, but the export volume to the US saw only a 0.34 per cent increase, said a company official.

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