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Concor's dependency on JN Port has declined following competition from newer ports on the West Coast. In 2010-11, 64.2 per cent of Concor's export-import traffic movement was through JN Port compared to 74 per cent in 2009-10.
This is because the competing ports on the West coast – Pipavav and Mundra – are seeing good growth in container traffic handling. For Concor's business, such a shift is mixed bag. From a risk perspective, it is good because the business gets distributed across ports, while in revenue terms it might have a negative impact.
“Share of Concor's container movement to JN Port is down, while that to Pipavav and Mundra is improving. APM Maersk has its own terminal in Pipavav, so it (the shipping line) has diverted some of its cargo there,” Mr Anil Kumar Gupta, Managing Director, Container Corporation of India, told Business Line .
“In revenue terms, it is not a very happy sign because JNPT provided the longest lead. If long lead traffic routes become less important in portfolio, it would reflect on Concor's earnings,” he added.
Concor ran fewer trains to JN Port in 2010-11 against the previous year. “In terms of movement of trains per day to JN Port, there were 16 trains in import direction and 16 trains in export direction each day in 2009-10. It came down to 14 each way in 2010-11,” Mr Gupta said.
But, this also has a silver lining as there will be more capacity in JN Port. “So, Concor can look at increasing its rakes to JN Port,” he said.
In 2010-11, JNPT handled 4.27 million twenty foot equivalent (TEU) containers, registering five per cent growth over the previous fiscal. Mundra Port handled 0.31 million TEU containers for quarter ended Mar 2011, registering 22 per cent growth year-on-year. Meanwhile, APM Terminals Pipavav, which was listed last year, registered a 29 per cent growth in container volumes for the quarter ended Mar 2011, against the corresponding period previous fiscal.
This fall in traffic for JNPT can also be attributed to agitation by Gujjar and Jat communities which affected rail traffic movement to the port for 23 days and an accident at the port. Additionally, the Commonwealth Games in Delhi had an impact because customers stopped booking for inland container depot Tughlakabad in Delhi fearing movement disruptions to the port.
Against JN Port, which handles about 60 per cent of the total container traffic of India, both Mundra and Pipavav ports are strategically located due to their proximity to the land-locked Northern and Western hinterland of India.
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