Reports indicate that major ports may witness a moderate growth in cargo and container volume in the coming months because of capacity constraints and a slowdown in global trade.
 
 However, private ports may show better volumes owing to their available capacity, reports indicate. For the first time in the last 12 years, cargo volumes at major ports declined during 2011-12.  
 
 The decline was attributed to global slowdown, ban on iron ore mining in a few states and capacity constraints at major ports. The total volumes handled by the 13 major ports fell 1.7 percent in fiscal year 2011-12.
 
 A ban on ironore mining in major mineral-rich states has led to a fall in iron ore exports in 2011-12. Iron ore exports handled by the major ports declined 30 percent year over year (y-o-y) in 2011-12. Iron ore, which formed 14 percent of the total cargo in FY12, is the second largest commodity after crude to be handled by the major ports.
 
 In 2011-12, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) operated at nearly 120 percent of its capacity. This capacity constraint at JNPT benefitted private ports like Mundra and Pipavav in Gujarat, which are operating at around 60 to 70 percent of their capacity.