An integrated domestic air cargo terminal building and the centre for perishable cargo was officially inaugurated at Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport in Indore. The new terminal was developed at the cost Rs 13 cr. With the inauguration of both the facilities, now the city airport has enhanced its capacity to handle 73,000 MT annually. The area of new domestic cargo terminal is approx. 1700 square metre and the perishable cargo terminal is approx 300 square metre. With this total area of 2000 square metre for both the new terminals, it is projected that the city airport would be handling approx 25,253 MT of cargo in FY 2029-30, says reports. Looking at the increasing demand for cargo in the city, the foundation stone of the new cargo terminal was laid down at the city airport on April 2022. Indigo, Air India and Vistara airlines are carrying out movement of cargo from the city airport. At present, 40 tonnes of goods are transported daily from the city airport. Staffs of about 100 people are put on the duty in the new cargo terminal.

In its India Warehousing Market Report-2023, Knight Frank India stated that Vijayawada recorded warehousing transaction volume of 1 million square feet in financial year 2023-24 with a year-on-year growth of 22%. The city saw a significant growth from prominent Third Party Logistics (3PL) firms like Delhivery and ProConnect as well as traction from major e-commerce players like Ajio and Flipkart. Knight Frank said Vijayawada was home to several businesses such as oil and chemicals, packaged food, automotive, and spare parts, and that e-Commerce made the largest contribution accounting for 62% of the total demand. At 22% of the market, the 3PL industry had the second highest share followed by the manufacturing sector’s 10%. The rents for Vijayawada warehousing facilities range between ₹194 and ₹258 per square metre per month (₹18-24/sq ft/month) in prominent locations. Rents of Grade-A warehousing facilities such as those taken up by Flipkart and Reliance range from ₹226 to ₹258/sq m/month (₹21-24/sq ft/month) while rents for Grade-B warehouses stood in the range of ₹194 to ₹226/sq m/month (₹18-21/sq ft/month). Due to potential rise in demand from online vendors, and 3PL providers in Vijayawada market, the need for warehouse facilities is expected to rise further in near future, the report said.

As air cargo continues to outpace global growth, Boeing is expecting deliveries of 925 freighters between 2023-2042. North America will see the highest deliveries (420) during the period followed by China (190) and Eurasia (150), according to Boeing’s 2023 Commercial Market Outlook released. The freighter fleet is seen increasing from 2,270 in 2022 to 3,745 by 2042. Cargo traffic (RTKs) is likely to be 630 billion in 2042, up from 260 billion in 2022 (+3.5 percent annually). With a resurgence in international traffic and domestic air travel back to pre-pandemic levels, Boeing projected global demand for 42,595 new commercial jets by 2042 valued at $8 trillion. “The aviation industry has demonstrated resilience and adaptability after unprecedented disruption, with airlines responding to challenges, simplifying their fleets, improving efficiency and capitalising on resurgent demand,” says Brad McMullen, Senior Vice President of Commercial Sales and Marketing, Boeing. “Looking to the future of air travel, our 2023 CMO reflects further evolution of passenger traffic tied to global growth of the middle class, investments in sustainability, continued growth for low-cost carriers, and air cargo demand to serve evolving supply chains and express cargo delivery.”

DHL Global Forwarding and IAG Cargo have partnered on the purchase of sustainable aviation fuel as part of efforts to reduce emissions. The partnership sees the forwarder purchase 11.5m litres of SAF to reduce emissions in 2023. DHL said that SAF being purchased is certified by International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) and produced from used cooking oil and food waste and has at least 80% lower lifecycle emissions than conventional jet fuel. The move is part of the parent firm Deutsche Post DHL Group’s ambition to achieve net-zero emissions logistics by 2050.

Lufthansa Cargo is all set to expand its cargo operations in Indian market with Munich to Bangalore and Frankfurt to Hyderabad flights,” says Dr. Andre Schulz, Head of Region, Middle East, Africa, South Asia and CIS at Lufthansa Cargo. The flights will operate thrice a week from these destinations in Q4 2023. Dreamliners and Airbus will be used to carry the freight load consisting mainly of pharmaceuticals and perishables. India is a very important market for us and we have witnessed notable growth in belly capacity and revenue in Indian market in the last few years.”

According to the latest data from Airbus, freighter conversions will account for over 60% of new freighters over the next 20 years. There will be global demand for 2,510 freighter aircraft during the period 2023-2042. 920 of these will be newbuild and 1,590 will be conversions, stated Airbus, In its latest Global Market Forecast (GMF). 600 of the total freighter aircraft will be large widebody (> 80 t) aircraft, 890 will be mid-size widebody (40 t – 80 t) aircraft, and 1,020 will be single aisle (10 t-40 t) aircraft. This will see the world freighter fleet in service reach 3,230 aircraft by 2042. In its GMF, Airbus predicted demand for 40,850 new passenger & freighter aircraft during the period 2023-2042. This is 1,360 more than in the 2022 GMF. The Middle East is due to receive the most passenger and freighter aircraft, followed by Africa, and Europe & CIS. Growth of express air cargo will exceed general air cargo, said Airbus. In 2019, the express sector comprised 17% of the total air cargo market, while in 2042 it will comprise 25% of the market.

TVS Industrial & Logistics Parks (TVS ILP) partnered with Nestlé to establish a customized warehouse in Coimbatore. This collaboration not only marks a significant milestone for TVS ILP but also underscores their commitment to delivering tailored solutions and expanding their footprint in the region.The completion of this project, marked by the handover of the facility on June 14th, 2023, represents in the timely collaboration between TVS ILP and Nestlé. Notably, the construction of the warehouse was completed within an impressive timeframe of 4.5 months. The stand-alone building, encompassing an impressive area of 1.31L square feet, has been thoughtfully designed to meet Nestlé’s specific requirements, enhancing their supply chain capabilities in the region. Located conveniently along the Palladam-Cochin Road, in the Sulur area, the facility enjoys excellent connectivity and is strategically positioned within the Sulur Warehousing Cluster. This prime location will provide Nestlé with a competitive advantage in serving customers in the surrounding areas and capturing the lucrative South market.

FIATA and Wisetech Global renew their partnership to to enhance and improve the digital realm for the forwarder, providing the necessary support for the switch from paper to paperless trade. The partnership is to continue for the second year in a row as the digital transformation of the global logistics supply chain breaks new barriers. As FIATA continues to enable digital commerce for its members through its Digital FBL, the necessity for strong and dependable partners on the global logistics supply chain’s digitization path is more vital than ever. As a result, FIATA is renewing its cooperation with WiseTech Global, making the eFBL available to its clients through the industry-leading CargoWise platform. The two parties share a vast global audience and have a joint goal to enable the seamless digitalisation of the logistics industry, in which collaboration with international partners is paramount.

FedEx Corp. and Floship, announced a partnership designed to provide enhanced fulfillment and logistics services to e-tailers worldwide. Through investment by the FedEx Innovation Lab (FIL), the partnership will create an end-to-end digitalized fulfillment and return solution, enhancing operational efficiency through optimal inventory management and best-in-class delivery using FedEx services. This partnership will give FedEx’s e-commerce customers access to Floship’s global network of warehouses and powerful logistics platform’s capabilities to streamline their e-commerce fulfillment operations. At the same time, Floship’s customers will be able to leverage FedEx global networks as well as a full range of FedEx extensive transportation options to optimize their operations. FedEx’s and Floship’s cross-border e-commerce customers in Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, Europe, and North America will gain access to enhanced fulfillment, last-mile delivery, as well as hassle-free returns. Speaking on the collaboration, Joshua Tsui, Floship’s CEO shared, “As more consumers around the world embrace e-commerce, businesses must come together to provide customers with innovative solutions that redefine the traditional linear supply chain. By bringing this collaboration to market, our mutual goal is to provide e-commerce brands and retailers with a one-stop, all-inclusive two-way supply chain solution that enables brands to grow at an exponential rate whilst simultaneously delivering a superior customer experience.”

Falcon Autotech has announced the launch of “NEO – An ASRS to revolutionize the warehousing landscape by offering businesses unparalleled efficiency, enhanced productivity, and streamlined inventory management for order fulfilment and piece-picking operations. A game-changer in the warehousing industry, NEO is leveraging robotics, artificial intelligence, and advanced sensors to automate goods’ storage and retrieval processes. Comprising five key components NEObots, NEOgrid, NEObins, NEOit and NEOstations, the ASRS system enables storing and retrieving goods in an overlaid grid within the four walls of the warehouse without complex engineering. It is adaptive and can be deployed quickly and cost-effectively compared to traditional material handling systems. NEO’s standout features include 3D movement wherein the bots can move freely in all three X, Y, and Z dimensions to reach their targeted bins eliminating the need for any lifts or conveyor system. NEO’s modular structure also provides the freedom to grow as your company grows. Based on the requirement, companies can add more robots or bins to cater to growing demands. In its decoupled system, any bot can enter any aisle, access any bin, and reach any workstation, making NEO the most flexible goods-to-person system. It also sets new standards for efficiency in warehousing operations by automating tasks such as retrieval and sorting, leading to faster order fulfilment and increasing picker productivity by 4-5X.