According to a latest report by Trade And Transport Group titled, India Air Cargo Outlook 2023, “The Indian air cargo market generated 2.2 million tonnes of traffic-1/5th the size of China’s and about 1/10th the size of the U.S. air cargo market – with about 30 per cent of the traffic generated on the domestic and the remainder on the international sectors. “Around 90 per cent of international traffic is carried by non-Indian carriers with Gulf-based carriers as well as Aerologic (operating for Lufthansa Cargo and DHL), Cathay and Turkish being the most important.” Cargo handled across Indian airports may touch 2.4-2.5 million tonnes in 2023 even as passenger/belly capacity comes back, says Frederic Horst, Managing Director, Trade and Transport Group. “With 5-6 Indian conglomerates investing abroad, the India link is always going to be strong. So, India is in a good position as far as trade is concerned.” International cargo traffic has not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels but domestic traffic has, driven by express, e-commerce as well as general freight traffic, the report said. Five Indian carriers now operate freighters. “Three of these – IndiGo, Quikjet and Pradhaan Air Express – commenced operations in the last 12 months using narrow body freighters.” Five carriers are in various stages of start-up “but the Indian air cargo landscape is littered with just as many failed airlines.” The largest carrier in the Indian market is currently Aerologic (14 percent) followed by Qatar Airways (12 percent), Emirates (12 percent), Air India/Air India Express (8 percent) and Cathay Pacific (7 percent). Turkish Airlines has increased its share to about 5 percent of the market. (In the case of Aerologic, there has been a …

LATAM Cargo has received its 17th freighter to strengthen its cargo offering. The Boeing B767-300F has been converted from LATAM’s passenger fleet, said the carrier. Another six B767Fs are due next year. LATAM has also expanded its belly capacity in South America. LATAM Airlines Brazil will begin operating a Sao Paulo/Guarulhos-Passo Fundo route with daily flights from March 28. Plus, LATAM Airlines Colombia will begin daily Bogota-Riohacha flights from March 28. LATAM Cargo also recently added a new freighter service between North and South America to target flower volumes in the region. This freighter service will operate between Ecuador, Brazil and the US, calling: Quito, Los Angeles, Houston, Manaus and Viracopos. The service will initially operate twice weekly, but will increase to four rotations later this year when new freighters are added. At the end of October, LATAM Cargo and partner DSV increased freighter flights from Huntsville International Airport in Alabama to Viracopos in Brazil from one to three weekly frequencies. The partners are utilising a B767-300F as they look to capitalise on demand to South America. This came shortly after the carrier had taken delivery of its 16th freighter.

Global Crossing Airlines Group (GlobalX) has reached an agreement to lease an additional A321 Passenger to Freighter (P2F) aircraft for delivery in December this year. The carrier received approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration for cargo operations in February and commenced flights with its first A321P2F aircraft in the same month, said release. “We are pleased to be able to add an additional A321F to our delivery schedule for 2023. We expect now to take delivery of a total of six A321Fs this year, including the first freighter (N410GX) which entered revenue service in February,” said Ed Wegel, chair and chief executive of GlobalX. Previously a passenger ACMI and charter airline, Miami-based GlobalX said in February it expected its second A321P2F to arrive by mid-March and its third A321P2F to be delivered in May. However, the company now expects its second A321P2F to arrive in April. “We expect delivery of our second A321F in mid April, and that aircraft has been completely booked by our cargo clients for the next 12 months,” said Wegel. The company plans on acquiring 25 freighters in total, which will equal the number of passenger charter aircraft in the fleet. Wegel added: “We continue work on the certification of GlobalX Colombia which will operate the A321F and expect to enter phase 3 of that certification by May, 2023.” The first A321P2F aircraft was converted by ST Engineering and delivered to Miami International Airport (MIA) in December. The A321P2F has a capacity of 14 upper deck and 10 lower deck containers, which is 55% more containerised volume than the Boeing B737-800 freighter and 14% more containerised volume than the B757-200F, said GlobalX. GlobalX serves the …

The National Rail Plan envisages that the share of freight traffic by rail should go up from current share of 28% to 44% by 2051. The construction of Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs) on the important high density route is an important policy measure by Indian Railways to arrest the trend of falling market share of railways in the country and also will shift the advantage in favour of rail transport. DFC operation will bring-in efficiency in freight operation and enable rail tariff being more competitive because of its following operational/design features: Higher throughput per wagon and per train: Run Heavy Haul trains. Lower Energy Consumption: Reduce Operation and Maintenances Costs Reduction in Transit time: Reduce logistic cost of transportation and better utilization of Rolling stock Moreover Indian Railway has taken number of multi-pronged strategy to increase its modal share in freight segment which includes tariff rationalization and Tariff/freight incentive schemes which includes; diversification of freight basket, Liberalised Automatic Freight Rebate Scheme in Traditional Empty Flow Directions, Rationalization of Station to station rates policy, Rationalization of Merry-Go- Round, Concession in short Lead Traffic, Discount in freight to fly ash traffic booked in Open/flat Stock & covered wagons, Round trip charging for ultra short lead (upto 50Kms) container traffic, Round Trip Traffic (RTT) Policy, Automobile Freight Train Operator Scheme (AFTO), Introduction of Cube Container for two wheeler traffic. A New ‘Gati Shakti Multi- Modal Cargo Terminal (GCT)’ policy has also been launched to facilitate development of cargo terminals on non Railway land, as well as on Railway land (partially or fully) etc. In addition, various other schemes have also been introduced to attract private investment in General Purpose Wagons, Special Purpose / …

Prozo, a full-stack supply chain company, announced the opening of its new fulfillment center in Village Khasarwara, Lucknow. The facility is a built-to-suite (BTS) warehouse with an area of ~23,000 sq. ft and within 5 KMs of the nearest highway, NH27. It has 900 LSS positions which can support 16,200 bin positions, and the facility also has the space for 435 ground pallet positions, providing storage space for around 3 lakh units of apparel, accessories, small electronics, etc. The PEB structure offers a clear height of 12 Meters and has FM2 flooring with a load-bearing capacity of 5MT, said release. The PEB structure offers a clear height of 12 Meters and has FM2 flooring with a load-bearing capacity of 5MT. The facility is fully compliant with all necessary approvals in place, and has 24X7 CCTV monitoring, patrol guards, and fire extinguishers, making it a safe and reliable storage location.

DP World and Grupo Puntacana have partnered to develop a new air cargo logistics hub in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, boosting the country’s position as the largest trade and logistics centre in the Caribbean. “The new facility is being created through an agreement between DP World and the Punta Cana Free Trade Zone (PCFTZ), a company of Grupo Puntacana,” says a release from DP World. “It will include a new logistics centre and infrastructure platforms capable of supporting multimodal air, land and sea cargo. Operations are expected to commence in late second quarter 2023.” The logistics centre will harness DP World’s extensive Dominican Republic multimodal cargo management experience and world-class standards for handling logistics operations globally as well as the high connectivity of the Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) to global distribution centres, the release added. DP World began operations in the Dominican Republic in 2003 at its port facility at the Punta Caucedo peninsula, a strategic place for the redistribution of cargo to the Caribbean, the United States, Central America and South America.

Geodis has signed a 10-year lease agreement with PRD Group for a 20,000 square-meter multi-user facility in Minhang district, Shanghai. The facility is set to bolster GEODIS’ contract logistics capabilities for retail partners, providing improved storage and inventory processing to support the fast-growing e-commerce industry that is expected to be worth USD 2 trillion in Asia Pacific by 2025. The new facility is slated to officially open to GEODIS’ customers in July 2023 and will include a state-of-the-art storage system, consisting of mezzanine flooring, Very Narrow Aisle (VNA) pallet racks, and racking served by Autonomous Guided Vehicles (AGV). The facility will provide the space needed to support large merchandise inventory as well as inbound and outbound procedures. At peak capacity, the site will be able to manage an inventory of close to 20,000 Stock-Keeping Units (SKU). This will include having the space to process up to 300,000 lines per day for GEODIS’ Business-to-Consumer (B2C) customers, in addition to approximately 15,000 lines per day for its Business-to-Business (B2B) clientele. “Retailers today are facing a dynamic environment, where the rise of e-commerce and omnichannel platforms are changing consumer demands for goods and services. Our goal as a logistics provider is to support our customers – and theirs – by meeting these demands. With this strategic partnership with PRD Group, GEODIS will be tapping into the developed multi-user facility in Shanghai to optimize retail supply chains and provide innovative solutions that not only match but exceed the standards of service required by our retail partners to better serve their customers,” said Onno Boots, Regional President & CEO, GEODIS Asia Pacific and Middle East. “We are excited to work closely with our partners to …

Gati Ltd., an Allcargo Group company has expanded its EV-led last-mile delivery partnership with home furnishings retailer IKEA India for its store in Nagasandra, Bengaluru. In line with Gati’s vision to offer green express logistics solutions and support the government’s goal to cut the net carbon emissions to zero by 2070, Gati has deployed Electric three-wheeler cargo vehicles at IKEA’s Nagasandra store and plans to onboard larger capacity four-wheeler cargo vehicles in near future. Gati aims to increase the EV-led last mile deliveries for store to over 70 percent by 2023. Commenting on the collaboration, Pirojshaw Sarkari, CEO, Gati Ltd. said, “Deploying EVs for express distributions is a part of our sustainability and green logistics initiatives. Both Gati and IKEA are committed to last mile zero emission deliveries . Our association with IKEA is since 2019 and its subsequent extension from IKEA Hyderabad to Bengaluru store is a testament to that commitment. The collaboration is also in line with the government’s initiatives to promote green growth – economic growth keeping sustainability in focus. The EV deployment in logistics transportation is set to grow on the back of increasing ESG awareness among corporates and customer demand for sustainable logistics services. We look forward to extending our support to IKEA in its mission to achieve sustainable and greener deliveries. Saiba Suri, Country Customer Fulfilment Manager IKEA said, “Gati has been a pioneer in supporting IKEA India’s zero emission journey. We are very happy to extend our association with GATI for our Bengaluru store and thank them for the co-creation and smart execution which will surely support us in moving towards our aim of 100 percent zero emissions in home deliveries by 2025.” …

CABT Logistics is expanding into the Full Truckload – FTL segment to upgrade the current traditional Logistics model. Since its inception in 2018, CABT Logistics has witnessed steady growth. The company’s turnover was INR 250 Cr in FY23 and aiming for turnover INR 500cr in FY24. A trusted partner in the sphere of logistics needs in terms of First mile, Last mile and Warehousing, CABT Logistics is now all set to gain a strong foothold in FTL. Working closely with giant retailers and start-ups, CABT Logistics understand the nuances of seamless logistics and gaps their clients face. Therefore, as a part of their strategic growth plan, the organization is gearing up for a massive expansion into FTL business Nationwide both Intra and Inter-city. The project titled CABT Surface will ensure Logistics Service with the best SLA (Service level Agreement). Catapulting the sector towards growth and innovation, CABT Logistics will be working on quality offering, standardization of contracts, frequent reviews on the outcomes & performances and achieving customer service goals. Jagadish R, Head CABT Surface Business said, “CABT Surface is an endeavour to optimise and standardise the sector ensuring that we are able to offer superlative services to our clients. We are working actively towards executing the plan for the Nationwide FTL/PTL expansion targeting INR 200Cr turnover by FY24 under the CABT Surface business.” Shailesh Kumar, founder of CABT Logistics shared, “CABT Logistics has been at the forefront of seamless logistics. We have expanded regularly to ensure we give the best services to our clients. Be it warehousing or adoption of EVs, the company has always stayed ahead of the curve. We believe there is massive potential in India for the …

Virgin Atlantic Cargo is launching a new structure for its products that offers various levels of speed and priority across the portfolio. The new structure means that when customers select one of the cargo divisions products – General, Courier, Fresh, Pharma, Valuable, Vulnerable, Cars, mail, and Custom – they will also be able to select from three service levels: Classic, Priority, and Express. Classic is the entry service level, Priority includes preferred access to space and guarantees delivery on time and Express offers the fastest solution, with the shortest close-out times and highest priority. Sean Cruse, manager of commercial development at Virgin Atlantic Cargo, said: “The logistics space is evolving quickly around how our customers want to interact, and the operational requirements needed to efficiently transport goods around the world, which is why it is important to us to provide our customers with more choice so they can move cargo, their way. “This new structure will help our customers understand the range of capabilities we can offer across our network and allow for a tailored movement based on their exact requirements. “It also acts as our foundation for continuous improvement, where we will be reviewing and developing our offering based on customers feedback through our established Customer Survey programme.” The development follows the airline’s recent cargo management system upgrade to Accelya’s latest SkyChain solution. Maria Sanchez-Grant, head of distribution at Virgin Atlantic Cargo, said: “As we continue our digital transformation journey, this change in our products allows us to provide an intuitive experience across any channel for our customers. Having this as our foundation allows us to continually develop and enhance what we do to further improve our offering.” The …