In the era of globalization with the expansion in world trade, the volume of cargo traffic at Indian ports is also expanding significantly. Indian ports would require significant improvement in port performance with the increasing cargo volume at ports. The operational efficency and physical capacity collectively determine the performance of a port. This paper analyzes the performance of Indian major ports for the year 2007. The Weighted Score Method has been adopted for ranking major Indian ports. The weights are derived from the factor loadings of the Principal Component Analysis. On the basis of operational performance indicators and physical facilities indicators, the ranking for major Indian ports are done. The paper also provides a feedback to the ports about its status and ongoing improvement strategies.

The increasing world output and resulting expansion in world merchandise trade in the era of globalization has consequently demanded efficient maritime infrastructure for global logistic services. Ports being the nodal points in the global logistic system are poised with the challenge of handling increasing volume of international trade cargo. In this context, the continuous improvement in port performance becomes an important contributor to a nation's international competitiveness and plays a significant role in trade-oriented economic development.

When ports all over the world are gaining enormous importance in the era of globalization with the expansion in world trade, the volume of cargo traffic at Indian ports is also expanding significantly. The growth trend in volume of cargo traffic at Indian ports suggests that, in order to meet the cargo handling demand in future, Indian ports sector would require a significant increase in capacity and improvement in port performance.

The performance of a port is collectively determined by its operational and physical characteristics; and therefore, to improve the port performance, substantial improvement in both operational efficiency and physical capacity is essential. The performances of ports are evaluated with the help of indicators, which provide an insight into why the performance of ports, as measured by these indicators, varies so significantly between different ports. Hence, the port performance appraisal can be a powerful management tool for port authorities/operators and a significant input for informing regional and national port planning and operations.

Infrastructure Journal, Port Ranking Model, Globalization, Global Logistic Services, Economic Development, Indian Ports sector, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD, Total Factor Productivity, TFP, Principal Component Analysis, PCA, Human Resources, Data Envelopment Analysis.