Kandla Port moves 7.78 lakh tonnes in 24 hrs: supply chain implications

For supply chain managers overseeing bulk commodity flows, Kandla Port's record 7.78 lakh tonne day is not just a statistic—it's a proof point of infrastructure readiness. As global trade lanes face volatility, having a west-coast Indian port capable of surging throughput by double-digit percentages reduces reliance on congested alternatives and trims landed cost risks. The record raises immediate questions about rail and road evacuation capacity, terminal consistency, and whether this peak can become a sustainable operating norm.

Kandla Port has shattered India's single-day cargo handling record, achieving 7.78 lakh tonnes (778,000 metric tonnes) on June 26, 2026. This milestone, announced by the Deendayal Port Authority (DPA), surpasses any previous 24-hour throughput by an Indian port and signals a sharp upward trajectory in operational capacity. The record comes on the heels of robust LPG growth: the port handled 133 LPG vessels and 2.61 million metric tonnes (MMT) of LPG in FY2025-26, a 25% year-on-year increase. This dual performance underlines Kandla's strengthening position as a critical energy logistics hub, particularly for India's expanding LPG import and distribution network.

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The record comes on the heels of robust LPG growth: the port handled 133 LPG vessels and 2.61 million metric tonnes (MMT) of LPG in FY2025-26, a 25% year-on-year increase.

The 7.78 lakh tonnes figure, while a national record, must be contextualized within the port's existing infrastructure upgrades. Kandla, officially Deendayal Port, is located in the Gulf of Kutch and serves as the gateway for dry bulk, liquid, and containerized cargo for northern and western India. Handling such volumes in a single day requires coordinated vessel scheduling, enhanced mechanization, deeper draft berths, and efficient evacuation through rail and road corridors. The fact that this record occurred in late June, during the pre-monsoon period, suggests that the port management deliberately optimized operations to demonstrate capacity. It also points to potential improvements in turnaround time, a key performance indicator for ports competing for transshipment and direct-call traffic.

From a supply chain and logistics perspective, the record has immediate and long-term implications. Importer and exporter confidence in Kandla's ability to clear large consignments quickly reduces demurrage risk and inventory carrying costs. For LPG specifically, the 25% growth coupled with a high single-day volume indicates that demand for LPG as cooking fuel and industrial feedstock remains robust, supported by government schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. This creates pull pressure on logistics networks downstream, including storage terminals, cylinder filling plants, and last-mile delivery.

The achievement also coincides with the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways' launch of the Logistics Port Performance Index (LPPI) for FY2024-25 on June 25, 2026. The LPPI aims to benchmark ports on efficiency, turnaround time, and supply chain connectivity. Kandla's record directly reinforces its competitiveness in such rankings, likely positioning it ahead of peers like Mundra and Jawaharlal Nehru Port in specific bulk cargo categories. Furthermore, the Sagar Aankalan Award received in May 2026 for container handling under 0.5 million TEUs demonstrates that the port is diversifying beyond bulk; containerization at Kandla, while smaller in volume, is growing, which will integrate it more deeply into global supply chains.

However, a single-day record does not guarantee sustained daily performance. Operational constraints like channel congestion, rail rake availability, and labor capacity could cap regular throughput far below this peak. Nevertheless, if the port can maintain an elevated average throughput, it could decongest other west-coast ports, particularly Mundra, which handles a large share of containerized trade. For logistics managers, this opens opportunities to reroute shipments via Kandla for time-sensitive bulk commodities like fertilizers, coal, and petroleum products.

The record also signals to the global shipping community that Indian ports are rapidly modernizing. With the Sagarmala program and private sector participation, port capacity is expanding. Kandla's feat, widely publicized on social media by DPA, acts as a marketing tool to attract more direct shipping calls, potentially reducing transshipment via Colombo or Singapore for certain trades. This could shorten lead times and reduce logistics costs for Indian importers.