Concentration analysis of container terminals in India

Abstract

The container terminals of India have experienced an increase of 46% over the past five years, with an increase of 9% year-on-year since 2015. In case of container terminals, the modernisation of equipment and digitalisation of processes have been initiated to exploit the underutilised capacity, thereby resulting in increased utilisation of container terminals throughout the country. The present study analyses the concentration and deconcentration tendencies of the container terminals of India through empirical analysis, utilising concentration ratios, Herfindahl Hirschman Index (HHI) and the share-shift analysis (SSA) on the container over the period of 2015–2019. Further, the study examines the development of Indian container terminals over the same period. The growth share matrix is plotted to bifurcate the terminals based on their market share and growth rate. The results indicate a deconcentration trend over the period of 5 years among the container terminals. The HHI index has reduced by over 33% in the 5-year period considered, indicating that the market is moving towards perfect competitiveness, thereby increasing the scope for the development of new terminals. The Adani International Container Terminal (AICT) has emerged as the star performer in terms of the growth share matrix over the considered period. This study is the first of its kind related to the Indian container terminals. The results would enable the port authorities, private players, and the port operators to understand the market they are operating in and the strategies to devise for the purpose of improvement of the terminals.