Airbus has secured another major A350 freighter customer with an order from Turkish Airlines for five of the new cargo aircraft. The order follows Cathay Cargo’s recently announced decision to order six A350Fs with the right to order 20 more. The A350F can carry a payload of up to 111 tonnes and can fly up to 8,700 kms. Its cargo door will have a width of 4.4 m. The deal is another blow for Boeing, whose 777-8F freighter programme has also slowed down this year. The 777-8F offers a maximum structural payload of 118 tonnes (revenue payload 112.3tonnes) and a range of 8,167 km, while its cargo door has a width of 3.72 m. Orders placed for the Boeing aircraft include: Silkway West (2), Cargolux (10), Lufthansa (7), ANA (2) and Qatar (34).

Cargo Service Center (CSC) announced significant expansion of its operations in Kerala. On June 1st, 2023, CSC commenced its security functions as an BCAS Authorized Regulated Agent (RA), reinforcing its commitment to cargo safety. Building on this momentum, on August 22nd, 2023, CSC launched international operations at Cochin International Airport (CIAL). A year earlier, in 2022, CSC had initiated services at the Cochin Domestic Cargo Terminal, solidifying its presence in the vibrant state of Kerala. CSC Group Chairman Shri Tushar Jani said, “Cochin International Airport serves as a pivotal hub for international air cargo activities in the southern region of India. CSC’s expansion in Kerala holds immense significance, as it is the second airport in the state, alongside Kannur, where the company efficiently operates and manages the entire cargo terminal, encompassing both domestic and international cargo operations, with an unwavering commitment to enhancing air cargo services nationwide.”

India’s logistic costs ranged between 7.8% and 8.9% during 2021-22, down from 8.7-9.9% during 2011-12, a report by economic think tank National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), said. According to the report, ‘Logistic Cost in India: Assessment and Long-term Framework’, India’s logistics costs saw a dip during 2014-15 to 2016-17, from 8.3-9.4% to 7.8-8.8%, due to a faster growth in nominal GDP than in logistic costs, and a fall in fuel prices compared to the earlier period. The national logistics policy will reduce the cost and enhance the competitiveness of Indian industry, said Rajesh Kumar Singh, DPIIT Secretary. He said that the government has released a national logistics policy to reduce the cost and enhance competitiveness of the Indian industry. The kind of investment that India is making in both physical and digital infrastructure….all that is creating an enabling environment where we will start getting good and credible data, based on which, we can do data-based planning and ultimately data-based policy-making as well,” Singh said. He added that through the report, a framework is being developed which will be used to calculate credible logistics cost estimates.

Pharma.Aero, a cross-industry collaboration platform for life science logistics, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Cool Chain Association (CCA), an industry association specialising in temperature-controlled logistics, to harmonise pharmaceutical and perishable cold chain processes. The MoU outlines the associations’ shared commitment to foster collaboration and enhance transparency between the life science and perishable supply chain, says an official release. “Our partnership with Pharma.Aero is born out of a shared goal to improve the quality and safety of the cool supply chain,” says Stavros Evangelakakis, Chairman of the Board, CCA and Head of Global Healthcare, Cargolux. “We believe that we can achieve so much more through cross-industry collaboration than we ever could working independently in silos.”

Essar signed three Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with the Government of Gujarat for a total investement of Rs 55,000 crore ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024. Essar is in a renewed phase of making stategic investements in the field of Energy Transition, Power and Port sectors in the state. This initiative aims to create over 10,000 job opportunities. Over the last four decades, Essar has invested more than Rs 1 lakh crore in the Energy, Metals & Mining and Infrastructure sectors in Gujarat. Gujarat has played a crucial role in Essar’s growth story. The company’s investments in core industrial projects have enhanced the state’s industrial landscape, serving as a case-study for the state’s potential as an investment destination. On the signing of the MoU, Mr. Prashant Ruia, Director at Essar Capital, commented, “Gujarat has consistently been at the forefront of Essar’s strategic investments. We are delighted to further contribute to the state’s economic progress with an additional investment of Rs 55,000 crore in the Energy & Infrastructure sectors.”

Jupiter Wagons has bagged a significant contract for the manufacturing and supply of 4000 BOXNS wagons from the Ministry of Railways. The esteemed contract, valued at a staggering Rs. 1,617 Crores, underscores Jupiter Wagons’ commitment to delivering top-notch railway solutions to meet the evolving needs of the Indian Railways. The order specifically entails the production of 4000 BOXNS wagons, classified as BG Bogie Open Wagon type. These wagons boast axle load capacity of 25 tons, ensuring robust performance under varying freight conditions. The wagons exhibit a maximum speed of 86 kmph when empty and 45 kmph when loaded, ensuring efficiency and safety in transit.

Peter Musola, Head – Cargo Commercial, Kenya Airways shares, “We are all set to launch our freighter Boeing 737-800 in Mumbai on January 25 to cater to Pharma market. We also have plans to expand our network and destinations, in India, but we are starting operations with Mumbai. India is a Pharma hub and we see lot of potential in Indian market. India is a great trade destination and lot of Pharma is being moved to and from Africa, with our hub in Nairobi. Kenya Airways is looking at enhancing regional connectivity and capacity but due to global economic slowdown and crises in Africa, things are not in our favour at the moment as there are lots of complexities. But we are very focused and we look at India as a major market and have growth prospects for our main Nairobi Hub so we will definitely expand here.

3SC Solutions, a leading data analytics company, launched GAURI – a transformative chatbot powered by unparalleled Generative AI capabilities. GAURI marks a monumental shift in risk management within the supply chain industry. Offering comprehensive insights, actionable recommendations, and the capability to respond to any supply chain query, GAURI’s agile interface traverses the complexities of supply chain management with ease. Key Highlights of GAURI: Comprehensive Risk Management It integrates with and analyzes clients’ supply chains, identifying potential risks and giving resilient solutions and recommendations. Versatile Chatbot Interface Serving as an encompassing tool, GUARI addresses supply chain inquiries, offers analytics-based insights, and notifies with actionable recommendations to enhance resilience. The generative AI chatbot is a high-powered resource that can navigate the intricacies of the supply chain as it offers a versatile solution that goes beyond the traditional paradigms. It can identify potential risks, take mitigative actions, and act as a guide for supply chain inquiries. In addition to this, the chatbot integrates with systems to execute strategies and create a responsive value chain ecosystem.

The Warehousing Association of India (WAI) organised a workshop on Empowering Women in Logistics which Unveiled Strategies for Inclusion and Excellence on Empowering Women in Logistics. There was another workshop on Standardisation, Grading, and Rating of Warehouses in India. Inaugural ceremony had speakers, including Hoe Yun Jeong and Sumita Dawra, who gave insightful welcome remarks and a unique address. Hosted in Delhi by ADB, DPIIT, and WAI, the event aimed to shed light on the challenges faced by women in logistics and presented strategies to overcome them. Sanjam Gupta, Founder of Maritime SheEO, provided a comprehensive overview of the workshop. The workshop’s objectives included addressing gender diversity challenges, fostering inclusive work environments, and introducing the Survey on Diversity & Inclusion.

ECU Worldwide, Allcargo Logistics’ wholly-owned global subsidiary and leader in LCL consolidation announces release of its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) FY 2022-23 report with the theme ‘Navigating the Green Horizon.’ Th e report highlights ECU Worldwide’s commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040, the company’s ESG goals and commitments which include energy and emissions, Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), community development, labour practices and human rights, cybersecurity, and corporate governance. Shashi Kiran Shetty, Founder & Chairman, Allcargo Group said, ” With the launch of the report, we have set out on a mission to instill sustainable practices in our operations, aiming to minimize our ecological & social impact while delivering seamless logistics solutions. We at ECU Worldwide, are committed to moving further towards a sustainable and resilient future with our ESG journey. Being a global logistics conglomerate with presence in 180 countries, we recognize our responsibility to transform operations and actively contribute to reducing emissions. In line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) 2021 Standards, we have set out to achieve carbon neutrality and adopt 100% renewable energy at all owned facilities by 2040. We firmly believe that collective action will help in solving challenges and achieving a sustainable supply chain, as we look to collaborate with our customers, strategic partners and suppliers.”