News Breakbulk & Project Cargo
Breakbulk shipments at Port NOLA ( pictured ) fell 18 % through May , but fullyear volumes are expected to surpass 2023 levels . Port NOLA
On the cusp
India ’ s project cargo boom tempered by clearance snags , equipment shortages
By Bency Matthew
From January through May , Port NOLA handled 545,368 short tons of combined breakbulk and project cargo , an 18 % year over year decline , according to the latest figures available from the port . However , port officials told the Journal of Commerce in June they expect breakbulk volumes to surpass 2023 tonnage by the end of the year .
“ I look forward to building on this strong foundation .”
Branch served as chief commercial officer for the Alabama State Port Authority ( ASPA ) in Mobile since 2021 , joining the ASPA shortly after John Driscoll took over as CEO there . Driscoll and Branch both came to Mobile from the Port of Oakland .
Prior to her time in Oakland , Branch worked in various leadership positions at Maersk for 18 years .
“ Port NOLA plays an essential role in driving economic growth for our region and state , and I look forward to building on this strong foundation in global commerce ,” Branch said in the statement .
email : janet . nodar @ spglobal . com
India is on the threshold of a project cargo growth explosion as a raft of large-scale infrastructure projects kick off . But heavier cargoes and clearance complications could hold back growth , according to shippers in the region .
Projects for roads , rail , inland waterways , seaports and airports are supporting movement of cargoes across the country , Dharmendra Gangrade , head of logistics management at Indian engineering , procurement and construction company and diversified conglomerate Larsen & Toubro ( L & T ), told the Journal of Commerce . L & T , for example , recently moved steel coils from Japan into Nhava Sheva and Mumbai Port for the 13.5-mile $ 2.2 billion Mumbai Trans Harbour Link , the longest sea bridge in India .
However , heavier cargoes are becoming harder to handle due to port equipment and infrastructure limitations , while the myriad agencies tasked with granting clearances for interstate cargo transport complicate project cargo moves , Gangrade said .
“ Project cargo shippers continue to face challenges due to non-availability of assets driven by a huge demandsupply gap ,” he said .
Steel products , inbound and outbound , are also a major source of cargo for heavy-lift carriers and logistics service providers serving Indian ports , according to a Mumbai Port Trust executive who asked not to be identified .
“ Similarly , on the outbound leg , there ’ s a lot of finished steel volumes moving to Europe ,” the source said .
In addition , industry sources noted an increase in purified terephthalic acid ( PTA ) bags , used for industrial packaging , arriving at Indian ports on breakbulk vessels , mostly from China , Vietnam and South Korea . That could signal a pending shift of PTA from containers to breakbulk modes due to higher freight costs .
Wind turbine blades are another increasingly important breakbulk cargo for Indian ports , particularly Mundra on the west coast as well as Tuticorin and Ennore on the east coast . Adani Wind , the wind turbine generator manufacturing arm of the Adani Group , has a 1.5-GW capacity manufacturing hub at Mundra it plans to expand to 5 GW over an unspecified timeframe .
Rapid urbanization amid healthy economic growth
Dharmendra Gangrade Head of Logistics Management , Larsen & Toubro and a burgeoning middle class is driving growth in breakbulk freight in India ,
16 Journal of Commerce | November 2024 www . joc . com