Port Volumes in July 2009

July 2009 Port Volumes: Volumes at the major ports are down 1% YoY for July 2009, but cumulatively for YTD-FY10 are up 1% YoY. We believe that this indicates continued sluggishness in global trade vis-a-vis India. The key drivers for the YoY decline in July 2009 have been Haldia (-29.4% YoY) and Cochin (-10.1% YoY) ports. This decline was offset by increase in cargo volumes at Paradip (22.2% YoY), Mormugao (19.0% YoY) and Kolkotta (18.9% YoY) ports. Segmenting the data by commodity (YTD-FY10 vs YTD-FY09), thermal coal volumes have risen 20.4% YoY, but coking coal volumes have fallen 24.3% YoY, with all other commodities being almost flat. Container volumes are down 5.4% YoY. However, monthly trends reveal slow but steady increase in Iron-ore, thermal coal and container volumes, while coking coal volumes have been steadily decreasing.