Concor relies less on JN port

Concor's dependency on Jawaharlal Nehru port has declined following competition from newer ports on the West Coast, reported The Hindu.


In 2010-11, 64.2 per cent of container rail firm 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 a mixed bag. From the risk perspective, it is good because the business gets distributed across ports, while, in revenue terms, it might have a negative impact.


“The 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,” said Anil Kumar Gupta, managing director, Container Corporation of India (Concor).


“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,” 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 TEUs, registering five per cent growth over the previous fiscal year.
(Source:http://www.cargonewsasia.com)