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| Trailer stir hits Chennai container traffic |
| T E Narasimhan / Chennai Dec 23, 2008, 00:11 IST |
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6,300 containers lying at the port as on December 21.
Container traffic to and from the Chennai port has come to a standstill due to the indefinite strike called by the trailer truck operators. The strike has hit automobile, newspapers and telecom majors since their raw materials are stuck inside the terminal.
Around 5,000 trailers operating to and from the Chennai Container Terminal have gone off the road since December 19 to protest against the delay in executing the Chennai port-Ennore road connectivity project, which was originally conceived 10 years ago, said SR Raja, president, Trailer Owners Association (TOA).
According to industry sources, 6,300 containers were lying at the terminal as on December 21, of which 4,013 are import boxes and 2,393 export boxes. Normally, the inventory here is around 3,000 boxes only.
If the situation continues for one more day, the terminal operators would find it difficult to handle vessels due to the non-availability of space inside the terminal, a senior trade representative said.
A senior official from a car manufacturing facility here said automotive majors including Ford, Toyota and Hyundai import around 900 containers -- which are mainly auto components -- every month or 30 containers every day. The ongoing strike would lead to a shortage of components and in turn affect production.
The strike is also having an adverse impact on a news daily as the container which was carrying the newsprint is now lying inside the terminal. According to sources, top newspapers in Chennai import 2,000 to 3,000 containers of newsprint a month.
Meanwhile, trade representatives met Minister of Shipping, Road & Transport TR Baalu on Saturday, who assured them that the issue would be discussed at the NHAI meeting, scheduled on Monday.
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