The Hindu Business Line : Major ports’ cargo traffic rises 2% in Dec quarter

Cargo handling through the country’s 12 major ports has shown a marginal increase of 2 per cent in the quarter ended December 2008 when compared with the previous quarter.

The increase was mainly due to a 52 per cent increase in handling of iron ore during the quarter.

In the October-December quarter, the major ports handled 130 million tonnes (mt) of cargo against 127 mt in the previous quarter and 133 mt in the quarter preceding it.

Handling of iron ore saw a drop in the September quarter due to drop in demand from China. But, the throughput bounced back in the quarter ended December.

Industry sources say iron ore traffic will increase with demand from China picking up.

Beginning the first quarter with a growth rate of 8.80 per cent over the corresponding quarter of 2007-08, the ports’ growth slid to 7.20 per cent in the six months ended September over the corresponding period of last year.

For the nine months ended December, the growth rate declined further to 3.43 per cent over the same period last year, according to numbers provided by the Indian Ports Association (IPA).

‘No slowdown’

The Union Minister for Shipping and Surface Transport, Mr T.R. Baalu, does not believe that there is a slowdown in the shipping sector. “There is no slowdown. The trade is going on as usual and I don’t see any appreciable reduction.”

Container handling saw a 16 per cent decline during the December quarter compared with the September quarter.

“The October-December quarter is peak season for container handling following the Christmas and New Year seasons. However, in the quarter, demand from the US and Europe slowed down, affecting the performance,” said a source.

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