A 13.4% growth in cargo volumes in November 2009, as compared to the corresponding month last year, has reconfirmed the fact that global demand is picking up fast In what comes as a reaffirmation to the fact that global demand has picked up, Indian ports have witnessed a 13.4% growth in cargo volumes in November 2009 as compared to the year-ago period. With world economy gradually improving now, resulting in a step-up in product demand, the global shipping industry is fast recovering the losses it incurred during the economic slowdown.
In November this year, total cargo handled at domestic ports stood at 48.2 million tonnes (mt), as against 42.5 mt of cargo handled in the corresponding month in 2008. The cargo traffic in November 2009 is also 3.4% higher than that in the previous month.
 Factors for growth in cargo traffic“One of the reasons for the substantial rise in cargo volumes during November this year is that a number of orders have been despatched to foreign shores in advance as the world is now gearing up to celebrate Christmas and New Year. The additional consignments have played a key role towards the increase in cargo volumes during November 2009,” says K Parwal, director of Victor Exports, a mid-sized export house in Mumbai.
The rise in cargo volumes has also been powered by increase in iron ore and coal cargo traffic. Although the growth in cargo volumes is expected to be nominal in December, maritime industry players feel that high demand for commodities like iron ore and coal may ensure a decent rise in cargo traffic growth. Small and mid-sized maritime players, especially those involved in cargo handling at ports, are hoping that demand for these products would remain steady in the near future.
“Given that these products fall under the bulk cargo category, getting consignments to handle these commodities means we have big projects in our hand. This consequently ensures substantial revenue generation, which helps small players like us to consolidate our business,” says V Bothra, director of Sarat Chatterjee & Company, a small-sized logistics firm in Visakhapatnam.
Considering that the cargo volumes in November 2009 is the second-highest monthly cargo traffic since April 2008, the maritime industry would certainly hope that the growth meter keeps moving northwards henceforth.
Prasenjit Das |
