CMA CGM’s Nhava Sheva Freeport Terminal (NSFT) has rolled out a series of operational measures to address persistent landside congestion at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), India’s largest container gateway.
The terminal, operated as a joint venture between CMA CGM’s terminal arm and JM Baxi Group, has been facing pressure from fluctuating truck arrivals, longer gate queues and hinterland-side bottlenecks that have impacted cargo evacuation and delivery schedules. With Nhava Sheva handling a substantial share of India’s containerised trade, congestion at the terminal has had ripple effects across supply chains.
According to industry sources, NSFT has focused on improving gate productivity, streamlining truck processing and optimising yard operations to stabilise truck turnaround times. Measures include better coordination with transporters, smoother slot management and enhanced planning to handle peak-hour traffic more efficiently.
Landside congestion has been a recurring challenge at Nhava Sheva in recent months, driven by a combination of higher cargo volumes, infrastructure constraints beyond the port gates and uneven truck flows from the hinterland. In some instances, truck waiting times stretched into several hours, prompting concerns from shippers, freight forwarders and road transporters.
The steps taken by CMA CGM’s terminal come amid heightened scrutiny by port users and authorities, as congestion threatens vessel schedules, container dwell times and overall logistics costs. Industry stakeholders say sustained coordination between terminal operators, port authorities, customs and inland logistics players will be critical to ensuring smoother cargo movement.
With India’s container trade continuing to grow and Nhava Sheva remaining a key hub for exports and imports, efforts to ease landside congestion are seen as essential to maintaining reliability and competitiveness in the country’s maritime supply chain.
