APM Terminals Pipavav appears to be regaining some of the volume it lost last year when an intra-Asia consortium discontinued calling at the minor facility on India’s west coast.
Pipavav’s container throughput in the third fiscal quarter through the end of December edged up 1 percent from the prior three months to 167,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units, according to a company filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange.
That volume, however, was still down 6 percent year-over-year, an analysis of new statistics shows.
Despite intermodal service upgrades and tariff incentives, Pipavav’s inland volumes by rail remain under pressure. Statistics show October-to-December rail traffic was down 11 percent quarter-to-quarter, and was down 9 percent from the same period in 2015.
At the same time, the private port boosted its third-quarter net earnings by 18 percent year-over-year to Rs. 64.5 crore (approximately $9.6 million), aided by operating cost reductions and much higher revenue from general cargo handling.
“Our performance during the quarter once again showcases our efforts in a challenging business environment,” APMT Pipavav Managing Director Keld Pedersen said in a statement.
Pipavav’s total throughput in the first three quarters reached 505,000 TEUs, down 2.5 percent year-over-year from 518,000 TEUs, according to the analysis.
Statistics also show the private port’s roll-on, roll-off terminal received 18 car carriers and handled 27,000 vehicle units during the third quarter, representing a 25 increase over the previous quarter.
Although those figures show signs of a pickup in volume, Pipavav should prepare itself to combat an upsurge in competition from its close private rival Mundra Port, which is in the midst of a major expansion that will bring its container capacity to 6.6 million TEUs annually.
Pipavav is India’s first port to be developed via the public-private partnership scheme. The container terminal there includes 2,411 feet of quay, a draft of 48 feet, and 89 acres of yard space, providing for an annual capacity of 1.35 million TEUs.
Source: JoC (LF)
Source: JoC