Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) has picked Crisil Risk and Infrastructure Solutions as transaction advisor for the planned privatisation of the shallow water berth that handles general cargo and the coastal berth dedicated for local cargo movements. The 4.5 million tonne (mt) a year capacity shallow water berth has a length of 445 metres with a depth of 10 metres, and is capable of handling container, cement, general cargo and liquid cargo vessels. The construction of the dedicated berth for coastal shipping was taken up under the ‘Sagarmala’ programme of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways in order to boost coastal cargo movement. The coastal berth was completed in November 2020 and a trial operation was carried out in July this year. The berth will provide better infrastructure for coastal shipping as well as decongest rail and road networks, ensuring cost-competitive and effective multi-modal transportation solutions. The construction of the dedicated berth is in line with the government’s policy to promote coastal shipping to shift freight from road to an environment-friendly and cost-effective mode of transport.

A ray of hope for Indian exporters is expected in the current week as the Commerce Ministry in India has assured that they will announce short-term measures to ease the situation of acute container shortage and skyrocketing box prices caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. India’s Commerce Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam stated to the media that the Central government is brainstorming the options put across by the export body and private players to come up with a solution for the ongoing container crunch. Federation of Indian Exporters Organisation’s (FIEO) Director General and CEO Dr. Ajay Sahai said, “There are around 30,000 odd containers which are at different ports either because the importer has not taken the delivery or there is some dispute on customs duty or classification. We have suggested the government that these 30,000 containers be offloaded at various warehouses and can add them to the supply chain to help in exports.” Secondly, the export body has requested the government to regulate the export of empty boxes so that only filled containers move out of the country and the empties are put back in the system.

After being awarded with the international tag for six years, the Chandigarh Airport finally announced its plans of launching its cargo facility from November 1, 2021. The Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHAIL) as of now was only providing a common screening facility for domestic cargo, while the airlines — Air India, Indigo, Vistara and GoAir — were handling the goods on their own. Spread over 14,127 square metres, the air cargo complex in Chandigarh is being constructed at a cost of INR 11.5 crore and will have five cargo sheds, to handle both domestic and international cargo, including perishable goods. As of now the complex has four cargo sheds constructed through Galvalume pre-painted self-supported roofing and one pre-fabricated shed for perishable cargo. It is equipped with the latest equipment — cold room, reefer van, fork lifts, scissors lift, pallets, user-friendly weighing scale and trolleys — and high-security apparatus — closed-circuit television camera, X-ray machines, door frame metal detectors and explosive trace detection system.

Logistics Capital Partners (LCP) announced the development of a logistics facility of more than 30,000 sqm, divided in two units of the same size, after the announcement of its first Belgian acquisition in Nivelles. The warehouse, which has an internal free height of 12m 20 and 40 docks (1 per 750m²), and is built according to the latest sustainable norms. Each unit will have its own office, social rooms, and mezzanine. The site will have 178 car parking spots, as well as bike sheds and an outdoor area. The project has already found its first tenant with Medi-Market. The upcoming pharmaceutical company needs more space for its logistics and will move into the new, larger building in Nivelles. The first unit of 15,000 sqm (with 1,500 sqm of offices) will be leased to Medi-Market as from October of this year. The second unit is still available for lease and will be ready for take-up by December 2020.

Emirates SkyCargo, the airfreight division of Emirates, plays a vital role in facilitating the movement of essential goods to and from Russia during the COVID-19 pandemic. From January to July 2021 – the air cargo carrier transported more than 8,000 tonnes of vital commodities to and from the country, including essential medical and food supplies, electronics and vaccines. The air cargo carrier continues to be a strong and reliable partner for Russian exporters, helping local businesses connects to international customers worldwide, by offering cargo capacity on its wide body aircraft fleet. The air cargo carrier currently operates one weekly flight to Domodedovo Moscow Airport (DME). Utilizing a wide-body Boeing 777F aircraft in addition to offering cargo capacity on its daily passenger flights. In the first half year of this year Emirates SkyCargo was officially ranked the second-most punctual airline in Sheremetyevo Airport’s ranking in the category “Cargo airlines (with number of cargo flights in SVO less than 500 in the first half of the year)”.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) expands its cargo services with welcoming Hong Kong Air Cargo’s maiden Freighter aircraft, Hong Kong Air Cargo Carrier Limited (RH), to India. Hong Kong Air Cargo’s A330-200 Freighter holds overall capacity of 120 Metric tons. Through this haulage, CSMIA aided the export of 49 tons from Mumbai to Hong Kong. Currently, Hong Kong Air cargo’s freighter service is a scheduled airline operating once a week and will route its freighter flight to India from CSMIA. Headquartered in Hong Kong, China, the freighter airline has been operating in the blue skies of Hong Kong for over 3 years and provides reliable international scheduled and non-scheduled air freight transportation service for Hong Kong, Asia and beyond. Currently, Hong Kong Air Cargo operates a network of twelve destinations with its fleet of five A330-200F wide-body freighters.

Cargo volumes at the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB/ BLR Airport/ www.bengaluruairport.com) continued to see impressive growth, achieving its highest monthly throughput since commencement of operations. Under challenging circumstances due to the pandemic, BLR Airport has processed 37,319 Metric Tonnes (MT) of cargo in August —the highest ever since the Airport commenced operations in 2008. International cargo (both imports and exports) continued to be growth drivers, accounting for 24,304 MT, also the highest ever. Of the total international cargo, exports also achieved a significant record, an all-time high throughput of 15,224 MT. BLR Airport is the third busiest airport in India and has the highest cargo processing capacity. This has resulted in a 41% market share (industry estimates) in South India, making BLR Airport the preferred gateway for air cargo for shippers from the southern states of India. Key factors that have led to this transformation include, a conducive geographic location with easy access to manufacturing hubs in South India, adequate airline capacities to service key sectors across the globe and world-class cargo infrastructure, operated by Air India SATS and Menzies Aviation Bobba, Bangalore.

Supply Chain tech-based startup, Elixia Tech Solutions Ltd, has secured USD 1 million in its Pre-Series A funding led by RVCF and other angel investors. With this investment, Elixia Tech is planning to scale up its presence in both domestic and international markets. Elixia Tech had introduced its first product in Vehicle Telematics space, followed by a completely digital and efficient suite of supply chain solutions, under the umbrella of Supply Chain Control Tower. It provides interlinked softbots for all segments of logistics, warehouse and inventory that control supply chain planning and execution to reduce costs and bring visibility for goods in-transit and provide actionable business intelligence using Machine Learning. Announcing the investment, Elixia Tech’s Founder, Sanket Sheth added, “This is a very important milestone. While supply chains have evolved from on-ground manual operations to something as advanced as digital twins, majority of companies are still stuck somewhere in between. With the world going through the impact of external changes, it has now become even more imperative to bring in real-time visibility, optimization & transparency in the supply chain. Thus, I believe that now is the right time and the right place to get the right products to make waves in the Indian as well as Global Logistics Market.”

FedEx Express launches FedEx International Connect Plus (FICP), a new FedEx Express International, day-definite, e-commerce shipping service. This is said to combine competitive speed with attractive prices, in the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) region. FICP further enhances FedEx e-commerce capabilities as businesses are increasingly looking for more diversified, cost-effective solutions to meet consumers’ ever-changing needs. Shipping costs and delivery options are two of the most significant drivers of cart abandonment – about 40 percent of consumers won’t complete checkout if the delivery costs are too high. Another 10 percent will abandon their cart if a package cannot be delivered on time or flexible delivery options are not available. With FICP, e-tailers across ten markets including Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand are now empowered to provide their customers with an international shipping solution with prices that offer value-for-money, while ensuring shipments will be delivered within 1 to 5 business days within AMEA.

BlueBoxSystems GmbH announces the launch of BlueBoxAir with an aim for worldwide unique system to retrieve up-to-the-minute data from over 130 airlines and more than 1,600 airports. This allows not only the answer to the question where a specific shipment is exactly at this moment, but also if it is delayed, why and where the delay has occurred. BlueBoxAir offers much more information: ATA/ETA, Chargeable weight, Delay, Airline, Aircraft type, Henning Flaspöler BlueBox: Paket#2-Content Osnabrück, 02.04.2021 Transshipment Port, Split Shipment are just a few examples of information you get per shipment. Additionally, one can create detailed reports based on all data: Get an up-to-the-minute overview of chargeable weight, performance of the respective airlines and/or tradelanes, best in class. The perfect basis to not only optimize your supply chains, but to establish the best supply chains.