Gateway Rail Freight (GatewayRail) has flagged off its first dedicated round-trip export Service between ICD Viramgam and Nhava Sheva Port for India’s dairy giant, Amul – Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF). The exporters in the Ahmedabad region have been facing a lot of difficulty due to the ongoing crisis of shortage of shipping line containers. To address this issue, Gateway Rail Freight decided to provide dedicated round trip services between ICD Viramgam and various ports which brings in empty containers in to the Ahmedabad region in the inward direction, and carries export laden containers to various ports in the outward direction. Gateway Rail has been pioneer in providing dedicated weekly train services for imports and exports carried by all major shipping lines and major customers. These dedicated services are matched with vessel cut-offs in the case of exports, and vessel arrival for imports. The company operates a fleet of 31 train sets and has an overall annual handling capacity of over 600,000 TEUs.

LATAM Airlines has announced that the airline will expand its freighter capacity by as much as 80% through the addition of up to eight B767-300ER conversions. The conversion plan will be implemented over two phases; the first phase will see four aircraft converted between 2021 and 2022 and the second phase consists of four additional conversion options for delivery between 2022 and 2023. Upon completion of phase one, LATAM’s cargo fleet will reach a total of 15 Boeing 767-300ER freighters. If all options are executed, LATAM will operate a total of 19 767-300ER freighters. Roberto Alvo, Chief Executive, LATAM Airlines Group, said, “Despite the deep crisis the industry is enduring due to the pandemic, we maintain our commitment to support the region’s exporters and importers by providing them with more and better options to carry their cargo to their destinations. As a result, growth plans have been accelerated with conversion of up to eight Boeing 767-300ERs in the next 30 months.” Andrés Bianchi, LATAM Cargo’s chief executive adds, “Combining the passenger belly operations of LATAM Airlines Group with 15 to 19 Boeing 767-300ER freighters efficiently strengthens our customer value proposition. These conversions will enable the cargo affiliates to grow in key segments such the Colombian flower market or imports to Brazil. It also allows our affiliates to expand their network in domestic markets where e-commerce is rapidly generating an increase in air cargo traffic.” The move comes as airlines explore options on what to do with unused passenger aircraft and expectations of a lengthy recovery in intercontinental passenger flights.

Kuehne+Nagel successfully helped Sinovac Biotech, a leading biopharmaceutical company in China (Nasdaq: SVA), to fulfil its first Covid-19 vaccine shipment from Beijing, China to the Dominican Republic. The pilot shipment containing 768,000 vials of Covid-19 vaccine was stored in active temperature-controlled containers and arrived safely in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, on February 23, benefitting its citizens just before its Independence Day. The shipment was closely monitored and compliant with the most stringent standards to guarantee product integrity. Helen Yang, General Manager of Sinovac Biotech (Hong Kong) Limited said, “The Dominican Republic is 14,000 kilometers away from our factory in Beijing. During the ongoing pandemic, there are very few carriers connecting to this remote destination. However, Kuehne+Nagel responded to us with a feasible solution in just a short span of twelve hours. Even during the Chinese New Year holidays, the Kuehne+Nagel team was diligently preparing this shipment. We look forward to a collaborative partnership with Kuehne+Nagel.” Siewloong Wong, President of Kuehne+Nagel Asia Pacific said: “We couldn’t be prouder to having started shipments of Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine. At Kuehne+Nagel, we leverage our global pharma & healthcare network and expertise to bring the Sinovac vaccine to the market. We truly appreciate the trust that Sinovac has bestowed upon us.” Prior to this shipment, Kuehne+Nagel successfully fulfilled multiple crucial assignments for Sinovac, including an air charter from Beijing to Turkey for a door-to-door delivery of nearly a quarter-million flu vaccines. Kuehne+Nagel also helped with the shipment of Hepatitis A vaccine to Guatemala in South America as well as making nucleic acid detection kits available to people in Indonesia. With offices all over the world, 240 GxP-certified operations and more than …

In order to accommodate customer demands in a global airfreight market affected by lack of capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, DSV introduces three new intercontinental routes connecting five continents. COVID-19 continues to impact global trade and movement of goods for companies all over the world. Consequently, airports around the world are facing significant cargo congestion, and customers are facing a frustrating lack of capacity. The company continuously seeks to find alternative supply chain solutions for its customers and is once again expanding its air charter network. With the addition of three new intercontinental air charter routes covering five continents, DSV adds a significant amount of air freight capacity to help customers around the world. “We see cargo congestion at both sea ports and airports around the world, hence it’s crucial that we seek to find alternative solutions. I am very pleased that we keep expanding our international air charter services. The aim is to offer more flexibility and security of cargo freight which is crucial and sought after by our many customers,” says, Mads Ravn, head of global air freight procurement at DSV. The DSV Air Charter Network is managed as a fully in-house DSV network and includes road freight to and from the airport, document handling, and freight handling and planning for loading air freight units (ULD’s). The in-house control of the complete process makes the air charter network highly flexible and efficient for customers – all characteristics that are crucial for customers in times of uncertainty. The three new air charter routes Luxembourg – Sao Paulo, Brazil Started Febuary 21st 2021. A weekly direct route from Luxembourg to Guarulhos (São Paulo) with 100 tons of capacity between …

DB Schenker has commenced its one-of-a-kind flight operations in the Indian logistics industry, providing a direct flight connecting Chennai to Munich and Chicago (wheels up-wheels down in less than 23 hours). The weekly flight operations initiative is the second offering under DB Schenker in India, part of the Global Flight Operations Program which further marks the company’s leadership in airfreight services in India. Speaking on this, Keku Bomi Gazdar, CEO of AAICLAS said, “It is a proud moment for us that today at Chennai airport we have added one of the largest global freight forwarders as our customer in India by connecting India to the Europe and the US.” To keep the airfreight supply chain stable during the pandemic, DB Schenker in India deployed over 100 charters to augment capacity challenges for our health care, pharma and other industry verticals. The company efficiently deployed weekly flight operations for both imports & exports between West India & United States & Europe. The new B747F ‘flight operations’ initiative is aimed at simplifying the logistics services of the fast-growing industries in India such as healthcare, retail & consumer, automotive and industrial offering seamless capacity to support customers. The cargo will be secured from departure to arrival with no extra handling requirement during the transit. The temperature sensitive cargo in the ULD’s will be covered with protective material to maintain temperature in transit from Chennai (MAA). Door to Door transit time via DB Schenker in India flight operations would remain 3 – 4 days approximately for Europe & US bound shipments. Vishal Sharma, CEO of the Cluster India and Indian Sub-Continent, DB Schenker said, “The introduction of our second flight operations is a significant …

The Hubballi Airport has announced that the airport will soon commence operations at its dedicated domestic air cargo terminal in coordination with the Airports Authority of India (AAI). It is North Karnataka’s first dedicated domestic air cargo terminal. Final approval from regulatory authority, BCAS to operationalised dedicated cargo terminal is in process and likely to be approved by last week of March; the airport informs in its tweet. Meanwhile, the facilities for cargo operations, such as clearance /approval from BCAS obtained by AAI/AAICLAS for cargo movement from existing passenger terminal building will be provided with approval of BCAS. Dedicated X-ray baggage inspection system has been installed to facilitate cargo movement from passenger terminal building.

Stellar Value Chain Solutions has selected cloud-based enterprise-class supply chain solution from Infor for digitising and streamlining its warehouse management. Easily configurable and available across all distribution centres of the company, the digitalised supply chain service will offer its clients enhanced transparency, visibility and cost-efficiency, accelerate go-to-market strategy and leverage data analytics to identify new market opportunities. “At Stellar Value Chain Solutions, we have successfully initiated a tech-driven supply chain transformation across the country by setting up modern distribution centres following global best practices. Leveraging Infor’s supply chain management excellence and futuristic warehouse management solutions, we have taken the transformation to the next level by rolling out a cloud-based enterprise-class Infor Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) in India. This cutting-edge supply chain solution is scalable and flexible which requires minimal reconfiguration to integrate with the clients’ tech platform. It helps us offer our diversified clientele superior real-time visibility, customised services and data-driven consumer insights. Our world-class tech-enabled supply chain solution will help our clients achieve incremental growth,” said Anshuman Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, Stellar Value Chain Solutions. “Digitization is a fundamental reality for businesses today. Infor is proud to be a strategic partner of Stellar Value Chain Solution’s business transformation journey to help bring disruptive change to the Indian supply chain landscape. We have the deep industry experience to understand the complexities and unique technology requirements of this dynamic and fast-evolving industry,” said Ranga Pothula, General Manager, India Business Unit and Senior Vice President, Global Delivery services, Infor, in adding, “Infor’s purpose-built industry-specific solutions in the cloud will deliver to businesses unprecedented visibility into inventory, orders, equipment, and people to enrich service levels, increase product velocity and ensure support for …

While interacting with air cargo industry experts at the Air Cargo Virtual Meet organised by ACFI on the theme of ‘Changing Consumption Patterns– Transforming Supply Chains’, Hardeep Sigh Puri, says, “In all our endeavours in our efforts against COVID, one sector which has outshone all others is air cargo. In April 2020, air cargo handled at Indian airports was just 17 per cent of April 2019 levels. By June 2020, it reached 60 per cent mark. In September 2020, it was 82 per cent. By January 2021, it was 94 per cent of the cargo handled during same period last year. We expect full recovery by March 2021.” “Green shoots are visible across the air cargo sector. Srinagar witnessed 300%+ growth in air cargo as compared to pre-Covid levels. Surat saw a growth of more than 200%. Guru Nagri Amritsar is close to 80 per cent and Varanasi saw a growth of 96 per cent in air cargo movement. These figures confirm our understanding that Civil Aviation is one of the critical drivers of economic growth as well as an important indicator of economic recovery. Aviation industry will soon bounce back to its full potential,” he adds.

With a vision to form a significant entity that will be a world leader in international transport and logistics, Visa Global Logistics (Visa) have entered into a successful merger with a New Zealand based Mondiale Freight Services (Mondiale). The merged company will have a combined annual revenue of AUD1.2 billion, with operations across Australia, New Zealand, North Asia, South East Asia, Indian Sub-Continent and Europe. Both companies have made significant investments in wharf transport in Australia and New Zealand and offers a total end to end supply chain solution in these two countries. The founding executive shareholders of Visa and Mondiale will remain with the company as shareholders in their executive positions. Mondiale Visa currently handle 500,000 containers per annum and employ more than 1500 people globally, covering all aspects of freight forwarding, customs, wharf transport and warehousing. John Sargent, Director and Shareholder, Mondiale, said, “The Mondiale and Visa Global teams have very close synergies and are an excellent fit in the merged company.” Vittorio Tarchi, Founding Director and Shareholder, Visa Global Logistics, said “Each company has grown globally over the last 30 plus years, with complementary global networks and with a key focus on customer service.” Ray Meade, who has operated in the global freight markets in both Australia and New Zealand for 30 years and managed Mondiale’s Australian operations for over eight years, will become the Chief Executive Officer of the merged group. He said, “The strength of the combined entity, supported by its extremely valued & dedicated staff will deliver significant advantage to both its existing and future customer base”. The merger is subject to customary conditions precedent with completion anticipated during March 2020.

Kale Logistics Solutions (Kale) has launched the next generation upgraded Artificial Intelligence based truck slot management through its flagship Airport Cargo Community System (ACS) to avert truck congestion in Airports across North America and other large airports of the world. Truck congestion is a big problem behind the scenes at some major U.S. airports. The coronavirus forced big industry changes that have exacerbated existing inefficiencies due to poor coordination and infrastructure. Long Truck wait-times are a growing problem for Airports and the allied supply chain stakeholders like Transporters, Customs Brokers, and Freight Forwarders. Truckers are waiting in line for hours to pick up and drop off cargo at Airports in North America. Airfreight customers already pay a premium for expedited service, so delays can be particularly costly. International passenger terminals may have little traffic, but at some airports there is so much cargo that frustrated businesses have to wait days for medical supplies and other imports arriving on planes. The unusually heavy cargo volume, driven by a surge in medical supplies to combat the coronavirus pandemic and e-commerce orders from homebound consumers, has exposed long-standing, systemic inefficiencies at major hubs. Manual intervention and document processing further affect the efficiency and the time consumed in cargo handling. Data entry at various stages consumes around 22 hours per shipment. The absence of proactive information to the cargo terminal operators leads to inefficient personnel and asset planning at the gates, peaks and idle times, and long waiting times for freight handlers or trucking companies. Kale Logistics Solutions’ new Artificial Intelligence based Truck Slot Management for Air Cargo helps ground handlers, freight forwarders, and trucking companies to better coordinate their landside freight management so …