Sri Lanka is the main transshipment hub for the Indian subcontinent, primarily to the Indian Peninsular and other South Asian countries, Its strategic location among the main marine and air navigation routes within the South Asian region makes the country a lucrative destination for entrepot and logistic development.
Latest statistics indicate container transshipment volumes at the Port of Colombo fell in the first two months of 2023, owing to the impending global recession.
Transshipment container volumes fell 11.2 percent year on year (YoY) to 857,451 TEUs over the two-month period.
“Volumes are down overall as a result of the economic downturn in Europe and the United States.”
Volumes will fall until the fourth quarter of this year, according to a local shipping agent quoted by Mirror Business.
In February, India’s merchandise exports fell 8.8 percent year on year to US$ 33.9 billion.
Overall, container throughput at the Port of Colombo fell 15.1 percent year on year to 1.026 million TEUs during the two-month period.
Import (laden) container volumes fell 38.9% year on year to 60,491 TEUs, while export (laden) container volumes fell 15.2% year on year to 43,433 TEUs.
The Sri Lanka Port Authority-managed Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) and its partially operational East Container Terminal (ECT) handled only 272,942 TEUs during the period, representing a 27.9 percent YoY decline due to a significant drop in transshipment container volumes from India.
Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT), the port’s only fully operational deep container terminal, handled 494, 648 TEUs in the two-month period, a 7.4 percent decrease year on year.
Similarly, container volumes handled by South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT) fell 7.4 percent year on year to 258,828 TEUs during the period. Moller-Maersk, the world’s largest shipping company, warned last month that lower container volumes and freight rates would result in a fourfold drop in profits this year.
However, total ship arrivals at the Port of Colombo increased by 13.1 percent year on year to 654 ships during the period.