According to the latest figures from WorldACD Market Data.Global, air cargo rates have continued to soften in September. WorldACD said that air cargo prices continued their gradual decline in the first two full weeks of September, while volumes increased slightly in the second week after a drop in the first full week followed by a drop in worldwide cargo volumes in chargeable weight in August. From September 11 to 18 (week 37), worldwide chargeable weight increased +1% compared with the previous week, based on the more than 350,000 weekly transactions covered by WorldACD’s data. But comparing weeks 36 and 37 with the preceding two weeks (2Wo2W), volumes in the last two weeks combined dropped -3% on a 2Wo2W basis, while average worldwide rates declined -1%, with a decrease in capacity of -2%. Across that two-week period, tonnages showed a declining trend from the main air cargo origin regions, except for flows ex-Europe, which showed an increase of +2%. Notably, volumes ex-North America displayed a -10% drop that can also be seen on a lane-by-lane basis, with significant decreases from North America to Asia Pacific (-17%), to Europe (-10%) and to Central & South America (-9%), said report.

The Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI) has urged Union Ministry of Civil Aviation to restore freighter services of Lufthansa Cargo and Cathay Pacific at Hyderabad which were removed post-COVID from the ambit of Open Skies policy and cargo operations were instead brought under the Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASAs), said reports. The trade and industry body also highlighted how significant international direct freight connectivity was for Hyderabad, particularly with the region accounting for 40% of total bulk drug production and 50% bulk drug exports from the country. “Hyderabad region accounts for over 30% of all vaccines produced globally. Telangana has high dependency on air cargo for exports of finished goods and imports of raw materials. A consequence of the shift to BASAs was the curtailment of two-port landings by foreign carriers flying a multi-stop circuit route within India, dropping off/picking up international cargo from multiple Indian cities before heading back to overseas base,” said FTCCI president Anil Agarwal. “Under the new rules, Cathay Pacific flight previously operating Hong Kong – Delhi – Hyderabad – Hong Kong or the Lufthansa flight operating Frankfurt-Mumbai-Hyderabad-Frankfurt on a single journey is no longer being permitted. These were crucial trade links for local industries in Telangana and these two carriers combined had carried a total of around 15,000 tonnes of cargo in 2019-20, accounting for around 17% of the total international air cargo volumes handled at Hyderabad airport during the period,” he added.

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) announced that it has signed an agreement with Atlas Air for four new 777-200 freighters on a lease for a long-term deal. The first freighter is likely to be delivered in 2023. MSC Air Cargo has been under development for several months, said the shipping line, and will begin operations in early 2023. A company statement said, MSC’s entry into airfreight was in response to customer demand and as a complementary service to its container shipping solutions. Soren Toft, MSC chief executive officer said, “We are delighted to announce the development of MSC Air Cargo and to welcome Jannie Davel to spearhead this exciting new offering for MSC clients. This is our first step into this market and we plan to continue exploring various avenues to develop air cargo in a way that complements our core business of container shipping.”

Mahindra Logistics Ltd (MLL) has acquired the B2B express business of logistics unicorn Rivigo for a consideration of Rs 225 crore. In a communication to the stock exchanges, Mahindra Logistics said the acquisition of the B2B express business of Rivigo was on a ‘slump sale’ basis. This B2B express business of Rivigo had registered a revenue of Rs 371.3 crore for FY 2021-22. The acquisition will include customers, the team, assets, the technology platform, and the Rivigo brand. According to Rivigo, it will continue to own its truck fleet and the rights to the full truck load (FTL) operations, said official release. According to Mahindra Logistics, the acquisition will augment its existing B2B express business leveraging Rivigo’s network of over 250 processing centres and branches, spanning an area of more than 1.5 million sq ft, technology and process capabilities and will drive synergies in network, team and customer service.

DHL Global Forwarding has inaugurated a new sustainable, solar-powered transhipment hub and head office in Johannesburg, South Africa. Located in the Sky Park Industrial Estate it provides easy access to OR Tambo International Airport. The facility’s temperature-controlled chambers and Good Distribution Practices (GDP)-trained personnel enable the new hub to cater to the unique needs of Africa’s rapidly advancing life sciences and healthcare (LSH) sector, said official release. The new EUR 7-million facility (R127 million) includes offices and a 10,000 m2 warehouse. It will serve as a hub for transport, logistics, and warehouse solutions, as well as international freight expertise for different industries.

To facilitate the growth of the airline’s cargo business, Akasa Air has signed an agreement with SmartKargo to implement its digital air cargo management solution (ACMS). Akasa will deploy the SmartKargo solution across all functional areas of its cargo business serving all its destinations pan India, said release. According to the statement, the solution will interface seamlessly with the airline’s other systems and third-party providers via APIs — for fast integration and deployment, the release added. SmartKargo’s superior capabilities include 100 percent paperless e-AWBs, ease of booking, modern and flexible technology, single screen data entries, user-configurable Business Intelligence (BI) and reporting, powerful pricing and rate making, and real-time capacity management. Praveen Iyer, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Akasa Air also said, “SmartKargo’s platform will empower us to build and develop an innovative, dependable, and flexible air cargo business. The cutting-edge cloud platform is the best technology available and will boost Akasa Air forward by providing a full solution that includes great technology and deep expertise, so we can grow our cargo business to its full potential.”

Strengthening its position as a global integrated logistics company, A.P. Moller – Maersk inaugurated two new warehouses in India, that are strategically located near the National Capital Region (NCR) in the northern part of the country, the company said in a statement. The 420,000 sq. ft. Farrukhnagar Warehouse is a brand new, state-of-the-art warehouse connected to the busy manufacturing hub of northern India. With proximity to the Western Direct Freight Corridor (DFC), Farrukhnagar Warehouse will be a key facility for retail, FMCG and large e-commerce customers. The 100,000 sq. ft. Maersk Dadri Warehouse, located within the Inland Container Depot (ICD), offers customers bonded warehousing solution. Being at the confluence of Western and Eastern DFC, having a rail head connection, proximity to eight national highways, and Jewar Airport coming up within 60 km range, this warehouse has all the prime attributes that will add value to customers’ supply chains.

Continental Carriers Pvt Ltd (CCPL) successfully planned and executed the movement of 38 tons odd sized machinery from Germany to Chennai. The shipment was picked up from two separate factories in Germany and transported by road to Belgrade Airport for uplifting on a specially chartered IL-76 aircraft (BEG/MAA). Continental Carriers organized special equipment to load and offload the shipment on the charter, adding another feather in CCPL’s cap.

According to a latest report by property firm, Knight Frank India, the warehousing market in India grew 62 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in eight major cities of the country taking the total space covered to 51.3 million sq. ft. The Indian warehousing sector, which has witnessed tremendous growth because of the boom in online shopping especially during the pandemic has seen fund flow to the tune of $1.2 billion in 2022 through June, against the $1.3 billion raised in all of 2021, stated report. Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director, Knight Frank India said, “The high growth rate of organised warehousing sector in India is a result of its rising GDP and consumerism. With warehouse leasing in India surpassing the pre-pandemic levels, the sector is poised to take a quantum leap to match its more mature peers around the world.” A survey of the sector in the top 13 secondary markets including cities like Guwahati, Lucknow, Jaipur, and Coimbatore revealed a 31 per cent YoY increase in transaction volumes taking the total area covered to 12.6 million sq. ft in FY22 from 9.7 million sq. ft in FY21. The National Capital Region (NCR), followed by Mumbai, is leading the market with the highest overall transaction volumes, while Pune and Hyderabad exhibited maximum percentage growth in annual transacted volumes at 166 per cent and 128 per cent YoY respectively, the report added.

Considering the rise in the warehousing demand in India, the Noida Authority is planning to offer plots in sectors 161 to 166 located along the Expressway for warehousing needs. “Earlier we did not consider ‘warehousing’ in the industrial plots scheme launched by Noida Authority (for Old Noida) in September 2022. But we will, going forward as part of new schemes (of Old Noida),” said Ritu Maheshwari, CEO, Noida Authority, at the recently held Noida Stakeholders Meet. Since large land banks are not available in Old Noida, the New Noida Draft Master Plan proposes to focus on industrial development and is expected to plug the demand gap for warehousing requirements, she added. The draft plan, prepared by the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), proposes to allocate as much as 8,800 hectares, or 41 percent area for industrial use on which warehousing can come up. “I agree that warehousing is needed. While we have not allowed warehousing in the new schemes launched earlier this month, we will try and include it in the forthcoming schemes,” Maheshwari said. The new schemes launched in sectors 162 and 164 are large plots but have been offered for industrial use. “With the recent government notification that warehousing is allowed in industrial facilities and on industrial land, we will try and include it in the forthcoming schemes. Earlier, we planned to include one sector for warehousing but were sceptical whether the response would be good. Post this scheme results we can earmark a few bigger plots for warehousing soon,” she said.