Ports: landside chokepoints vs. India throughput
- Journal of Commerce contributor Robbert van Trooijen said on April 24 that container shipping’s next bottleneck is moving ashore, as ultra-large vessel orders outpace berths, terminals, rail links and truck capacity. - India’s major ports handled a record 915.17 million tonnes of cargo in fiscal 2025-26, beating the 904 million tonne target; Deendayal led with 160.11 MT, ahead of Paradip and JNPA. - The split is between congestion risk in landside networks and capacity gains at expanding gateways, reshaping where cargo can move reliably. (joc.com)
Container shipping’s next bottleneck may be on land, not at sea. Robbert van Trooijen wrote on April 24 that berths, terminals, rail and trucking are falling behind the ships being built. (joc.com) Van Trooijen said the pipeline for ultra-large container vessels now “vastly outstrips” new berths designed to receive them. He argued that landside chokepoints before the end of the decade could eclipse today’s Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz disruptions. (joc.com) The warning landed as India reported record cargo volumes at its major ports. Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal said the ports handled 915.17 million tonnes in fiscal 2025-26, above the 904 million tonne target and up 7.06% from a year earlier. (moneycontrol.com) (economictimes.indiatimes.com) The biggest handlers were Deendayal Port Authority at 160.11 million tonnes, Paradip Port Authority at 156.45 million tonnes and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority at 102.01 million tonnes. Those figures point to rising throughput at gateways that are still adding capacity. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) (thehindu.com) The contrast is not about one port system replacing another overnight. It is about where importers and exporters can still find room in the chain after a ship docks: yard space, truck slots, rail paths and inland connections. (joc.com) That landside strain has become more important after two years of maritime rerouting. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said longer voyages around the Cape of Good Hope cut effective capacity and raised costs before rates eased from mid-2024 peaks. (unctad.org) UNCTAD said maritime trade growth is set to slow to 0.5% in 2025 after 2.2% in 2024, with volatility tied to tariffs and disruption risks in the Strait of Hormuz. In that setting, faster cargo evacuation from ports can matter as much as adding vessel slots. (unctad.org) India’s port data does not erase the global warning. It shows that while some supply chains are bracing for landside congestion, other gateways are still pushing throughput higher and giving cargo owners more options. (joc.com) (moneycontrol.com)
