Container traffic at major ports have started to stagnate following the global economic slowdown that has hit global trade.
Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), which saw average 15 per cent growth in container traffic per month on a year-on-year basis across its Kolkata dock system (KDS) and the Haldia dock complex (HDC) since the beginning of the fiscal, reported that since September, there was only 4 per cent growth in container traffic in October 2008 over October 2007.
KDS saw 4.79 per cent growth container traffic during the April-September period.
HDC posted an overall 42 per cent rise in container traffic between April and October.
Growth dipped in October, according to highly placed sources in KoPT.
The impact was likely to be more visible from December onwards, as shipping lines had reported a cut in intakes, the source added. KoPT would still meet the shipping ministry target of 4.7 lakh twenty equivalent units(TEU) for the fiscal.
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It handled 1.83 lakh TEUs at KDS of its annual target of 3 lakh TEUs, and around 87,402 TEUs at HDC against a target of 1.7 lakh TEUs.
All-India average growth in container traffic including major ports like the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Mumbai and Chennai ports till September was 10.17 per cent.
KoPT did better than the national average at 16.26 per cent in the April-September period.
KoPT had an internal target of 10 per cent growth in the fiscal and was confident of achieving that.
The present trend reflected the impact of the slowdown.
Container traffic increased by 22 per cent in 2007-08 at 4,25,405 TEUs from 3,49,069 TEUs in 2006-07.
Import of machinery parts, engineering and electronics goods and chemicals declined as did with export of readymade garments and woollen garments, port sources indicated.
KoPT did not fear any traffic diversion.
It had a hinterland for container traffic covering the North-Eastern states, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, and was also one of the most cost-effective links to economies like Singapore, Myanmar, Malaysia, Korea and Japan.