Cargo volume surges and ports are congested! Goods cannot be cleared through customs

According to the latest news, the JNPT terminal at Nhava Sheva Port is suffering from severe congestion, which is mainly attributed to the sharp increase in cargo volume and the continued instability of shipping schedules. The delays encountered by container truck drivers when entering and exiting the container area have increased significantly, causing chaos in the pick-up and unloading process, which has been particularly prominent in the past few weeks.

The congestion at APM Terminals' Gateway of India Terminal (GTI) and DP World's Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal (NSCIT) is particularly severe and has become the focus of industry attention. In an official notification, the Nhava Sheva Container Operators Association (NSCOWA) clearly stated that the continued congestion has caused an average delay of 6 to 8 hours for each import, export and empty container when crossing the NSICT and GTI terminals, seriously disrupting the overall import and export cycle.

NSCOWA, as an organization representing the local container trailer industry, stressed that these delays are not the responsibility of its member transporters, but are caused by a combination of factors. Although the association and other stakeholders actively inform the industry through daily traffic advisories, the delays still have a significant impact on importers' delivery schedules.

In addition, the owners of container freight stations (CFS) at Nhava Sheva Port have also complained that they have difficulty in clearing goods from the terminal, a dilemma that has undoubtedly increased the financial burden on cargo owners. The Container Freight Stations Association of India (CFSAI) expressed great concern and pointed out that all port terminals reported high inventory levels, further exacerbating the overall operational pressure.

CFSAI pointed out that despite the association and all parties' efforts to raise industry awareness through daily traffic warnings, delays caused by congestion are still affecting the import and export process in an all-round way, not only extending the turnaround time of trailers, but also directly affecting the final delivery to importers and the efficiency of export and terminal connections.

Carrier officials pointed out that solving this problem requires greater efforts in cargo flow planning and coordination at the port and terminal level. Industry insiders further analyzed that the complexity of long-distance transportation in southern Africa and delays in the previous port of call have caused frequent changes in the estimated time of arrival (ETA), which has brought great challenges to major terminal operators in arranging ship berthing windows.

It is worth noting that the congestion problem is not unique to Nhava Sheva Port. Mundra Port is also facing dissatisfaction from container railway companies due to slow train turnover. Together, the two ports handle the vast majority of India's container freight volume. Therefore, improving port operation efficiency and strengthening cross-departmental collaboration have become a top priority.