KSH Distriparks has announced the acquisition of 40 new trailers to upgrade its existing fleet of 80 trailers. With the addition of new vehicles, the company’s total fleet strength now stands at 120 trailers. Acquisition of new trailers is a strategic move by KSH Distriparks to penetrate the lighter vehicle segment and focus on increasing its trailer transportation share in the Pune region. The company caters to the trailer transportation needs of several OEMs, Shipping Lines, CHAs, and Forwarders. The new vehicles will enhance serviceability across hinterland locations in Ahmednagar, Supa, Aurangabad, Kolhapur, and more. “Addition of 40 trailers is a significant investment for us, and we believe it will help us serve our customers better and also expand our reach in the region. The new trailers are GPS-enabled to provide real-time visibility into container movements and are equipped with the latest safety features to continuously deliver reliable, efficient, and secure transportation services,” said Mr. Malcolm Dsouza, Chief Commercial Officer, KSH Distriparks. He further adds, “India’s container market is on a growth trajectory and we are inclined towards increasing our efficiencies and capabilities to tap a major market share and grow our business in and around Pune in Maharashtra in the ICD segment.” With this acquisition, KSH Distriparks reiterates its commitment to providing the best possible trailer transportation services to its customers. The company is confident that the new trailers will help enhance its capabilities, expand its service area, and increase its market share in the region.

The outlook for air cargo in 2023-2024 remains mixed with several factors set to impact performance. Speaking at IATA’s World Cargo Symposium in Istanbul, IATA economist Bojun Wang predicted that air cargo demand was set to decline by 4% this year compared with 2022 levels. He said that this reflected the ongoing challenging economic environment. Wang pointed out that the International Monetary Fund had recently downgraded its GDP growth outlook for the year to 2.8% from a previous forecast of 2.9%. This figure also lags behind the 3.4% recorded in 2022 and the historical average of around 3.8%. “We had a challenging year in 2022 with the war in Ukraine, a high inflation rate, high oil prices and the Covid-19 pandemic – these headwinds haven’t really gone away in the new year of 2023,” Wang said. On the other hand, inflation is expected to have peaked in 2022, he said. Wang added that yields are expected to decline by around 23% this year, following on from a 7% increase last year, a 24% increase in 2021 and a 50% increase in 2020. “23% seems like a big shift but if you look at the growth in 2021, 2022 and 2023, it is just returning from a high level,” he said. This yield and demand decline will in turn put pressure on air cargo revenues, although they are expected to remain more than 50% above pre-Covid levels. Looking at IATA’s latest supply and demand figures compared with pre-Covid levels, Wang said that in February demand in cargo tonne km terms had increased by 2.9% against the same month in 2019. Meanwhile, capacity in February was up by 1.3% compared with the …

Blue Dart Express Limited announced that it has equipped its platforms with what3words location technology through which Blue Dart stakeholders can add their what3words address in the address section of the ‘My Blue Dart’ App, Blue Dart website and On the Move (OTM) platform for enabling them to specify a very precise delivery location—be it the front door of their home/ office, a specific apartment complex entrance, or a tucked-away side passage. For example, swimmer.kindness.habits is the what3words location for Blue Dart Head Office in Andheri, Mumbai. By typing these three words on the what3words portal or website, one can easily find, share and navigate to the location from anywhere in the world. The technology is also available offline and in 54 languages including 12 South Asian languages: Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Kannada, Nepali, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Punjabi, and Odia. Ketan Kulkarni, Chief Commercial Officer, Blue Dart says, ” Given the customer centricity values that Blue Dart carries, we partnered with what3words to stand true to our brand commitment of Customer Convenience and Delight. The three-word addressing will not only provide a seamless last mile delivery but will also increase delivery efficacy by reaching the precise location (within 3m of space) as specified by the customer. We believe that as the use of what3words grows, it will provide a unique way for us to deliver to specific locations, particularly in areas with informal addresses.”

Ahead of its Annual Conclave 2023 on May 3rd at Le Meridian in New Delhi, Air Cargo Forum India (ACFI) organized a power packed curtain raiser cum press conference at Udaan Bhavan, DIAL on 25th April 2023 to update the media partners about the key highlights of the event, with the theme Cargo Udaan – Connecting and Empowering Indian Skies. Mr. Satish Lakkaraju, Chairman, ACFI will be moderating the insightful panel discussions on the importance of Air Cargo in today’s world, Mr. Sanjiv Edward, VP ACFI will moderate session on Opportunities and Challenges in International Air Cargo, while, Mr. Keku Bomi Gazder, Member ACFI will be moderating panel discussion on potential of Domestic Air Cargo. Mr. Yashpal Sharma, President informed that they have very interesting line-up of speakers this year, who are air cargo experts. Sharma also stressed that since its inception, ACFI has been striving hard to take up the key issues and challenges with the respective ministries and seeking solutions for the same. The ultimate goal of ACFI is to collaborate and move forward for growth, he said. The event was hosted by Sakshi Gupta, Country Manager, Air Logistics Group. Mr. K S Kunwar, DG ACFI briefed about ACFI’s initiatives. Vote of Thanks was given by Mr. Munish Davessar, Head-Cargo Business Development, Delhi International Airport Limited.

Allana Cold Chain Solutions has announced its expansion in operations with the construction of storage facilities in Kolkata, Kakinada, and Dera Bassi. With the additions of Kakinada and Dera Basi facilities, the total holding capacity will increase to 65,000 tonnes. This expansion is a testament to Allana Cold Chain Solutions’ commitment to providing end-to-end solutions by integrating the experience and expertise in blast freezing, packing, inspection, freight forwarding and customized offerings to varied sectors and reputed clients such as McCain Foods, Britannia Industries, Morde Foods, Abbott India, Sapphire Foods (KFC supplier), Varun Beverages, Mars International and others, ensuring integrity of cold chain logistics requirements throughout the process. The new facility will pave the way for the company to serve a wide range of customers in the food, pharmaceutical and other industries that heavily rely on efficient cold storage and transportation. The company currently operates and manages cold storages in Uttar Pradesh (Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Unnao) with a holding capacity of 11000 tonnes, Kolkata (2800 tonnes), Mewat, Haryana (2000 tonnes), Mumbai and Aurangabad (28000 tonnes) and Zaheerabad, Telangana (6500 tonnes). It also boasts a state-of-the-art fleet of 125 refrigerated trailers and trucks up to 40 feet in length, a rare sight on India’s inland logistics routes, monitored 24/7 through a modern “Transport Control Tower” in Mumbai.

DP World has launched a new double-stack freight train facility to improve efficiencies and connectivity between its inland terminal at Ahmedabad and the Mundra port. The maiden train was flagged off from Mundra in early April with a full payload. The double stack train service will further boost the connectivity of Ahmedabad and will drive better efficiency and significantly lower the overall logistics cost for cargo movement on the route even with fewer rakes, owing to the lower haulage rates and lesser or zero port ground rent (PGR) resulting from the faster evacuation of containers from the port. Adhendru Jain, CEO Rail and Inland Terminal, DP World Subcontinent said, “Robust infrastructure and efficient logistics are crucial for boosting economic growth and exports. We are committed to strengthening our supply chain and enabling seamless connectivity to help our customers move their goods quickly and reliably to global and domestic markets. The new double stacked rail freight service will boost cargo carrying capacity substantially and will open new markets for MSMEs in and around Gujarat by leveraging DP World’s world-class integrated multimodal logistics infrastructure.”

WestJet Cargo together with the GTA Group launched three 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighters in Toronto and in Halifax. The event marks the start of a dedicated cargo service designed to fulfill the large-scale needs of businesses, freight forwarders, shippers and individual customers across an expanding network. WestJet Cargo and the GTA Group’s dedicated freighters will now begin operating between six stations in Halifax, Calgary, Los Angeles, Miami, Toronto and Vancouver. Integrating into WestJet Group’s existing network, WestJet Cargo and the GTA group’s dedicated freighters will work in tandem with the cargo carrying bellies of WestJet’s existing fleet of over a hundred 737 aircraft and use the group’s highly skilled 737 pilots. With a payload of 23 tons, the three freighters will have a weekly capacity of over 1500 tons. Their operation will create global connectivity and open trade lanes between Canada and the Caribbean, Europe, Japan and the United States. In addition to the broad range of commodities already carried by WestJet Cargo such as perishables, e-commerce and live animals, the dedicated freighters have enabled a broad expansion of the carrier’s service offerings, including the capacity to carry oversized items and unitized e-commerce containers.

Logistics today is the sunrise sector that offers opportunities for investors, entrepreneurship, and employment for young Indians. Logistics will be an area full of opportunities for young students in the coming years, as much as semiconductors, electronics, and information technology, with huge scope for investment, entrepreneurship, and employment,” said the Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajeev Chandrasekhar while inaugurating the G20 3rd Education Working Group (EdWG) Meeting Conference on “Transforming Logistics for Coastal Economies with a Focus on Sustainability” in Odisha recently. He added, “Intersection of logistics, coastal economies, and sustainability is an important topic and integral in the context of skilling in coastal economies. Students of young India are the most important stakeholders of any deliberation.” The Minister also said that the government’s policies and programs like Gati Shakti-National Plan for Multi-modal Connectivity will help create a modern, global standard logistics ecosystem that will enable new India’s manufacturing to succeed. The government’s focus is also on coastal logistics, India will soon emerge as a global hub for blue revolution products, food and agricultural goods, and manufactured products.

Welspun One Logistics Parks (WOLP) has partnered with jewellery maker GRT Group, to invest Rs. 700 crore for developing two warehousing projects near Chennai. WOLP in an official statement said that both the projects with GRT Group will entail a direct investment of Rs 700 crore and generate 3,000 jobs during the development phase and are strategically located on National Highway 16 – an integral part of the East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC). Each park is spread across 60 acres of land with a development potential of 1.3 million square feet, the company said in a statement. The first project is being developed through a 50:50 joint venture between GRT Group and WOLP; it also marks the final investment of WOLP Fund 1 and results in the full commitment of the fund corpus of Rs 500 crore. The second project is being developed by WOLP for GRT Group under a “development management” agreement, according to a WOLP statement.

India has made a significant leap on the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index (LPI), moving up six places to 38th out of 139 countries in the 2023 ranking, said reports. This improvement is the result of the country’s substantial investments in both hard and soft infrastructure, as well as technology. In 2018, India was ranked 44th on the index, and its current position marks a considerable improvement from its 54th rank in 2014. India has climbed five places in infrastructure score, moving from 52nd in 2018 to 47th in 2023. The country has also improved its rank in international shipments, moving up from 44th in 2018 to 22nd in 2023. India’s logistics competence and equality has also improved, with a climb of four places to the 48th spot in 2023. In timelines, India has made significant progress, moving up 17 places in rankings. The country has also improved its tracking and tracing capabilities, moving up three places to 38th in 2023. The report attributes India’s progress to modernisation and digitalisation, which have enabled emerging economies like India to leapfrog advanced countries in the logistics sector.