The Rajasthan Small Industries Corporation (RSIC) is planning to set up an air cargo complex at the Dabok airport in Udaipur to facilitate import and export of goods in the next few months. At present, businessmen based in the lake city of Udaipur and nearby places are required to travel to Ahmedabad or Jaipur for import and export purposes. RSIC, a government of Rajasthan undertaking, had forwarded a proposal to the ministry of civil aviation which has been given in-principal approval and the land for the project has also been identified. RSIC Chairman Rajiv Arora said the work on the complex will soon start and it is expected to be commissioned by early next year.

Qantas Freight is expected to increase its domestic fleet with six Airbus A321 passenger to freighter (P2F) aircraft to meet growing e-commerce demand from its customers. The Australian airfreight carrier said the A321s, likely to arrive between 2024 and mid-2026, will be sourced in the open market and converted to freighters. This conversion work will include removing seats and installation of a cargo handling system. The A321’s will replace the long-term fleet of five Boeing 737 freighters that are approaching the end of their economic life. Qantas said that each A321 freighter can carry 23 tonnes of cargo, nine tonnes more than the older 737s, and are around 30 per cent more fuel efficient per tonne of freight carried. Currently, Qantas has three A321P2Fs and is replacing the remaining 737 freighters with these newer aircraft will generate extra efficiency in training and maintenance. Qantas is also converting two widebody A330s to freighters for use on the domestic network.

Ecom Express Limited launched e-grocery fulfilment center in Karnataka. Situated in Hoskote, Bengaluru on an area of two lakh square feet, the center is the second grocery facility set up by the company in Karnataka. The center will support one of the leading e-grocery brands deliver a variety of grocery products to consumers in and around Bengaluru city through its 100 hyper-local stores. With over eight lakh processing throughput per day, the newly built facility has the capacity of over six lakh Cubic feet. It can store up to 10 million product units across categories, including daily household supplies, staples, tea, snacks and beverages, confectionery, personal care and more. The company’s fulfilment network facilities are designed with building systems that minimize energy usage. The new center integrates multiple dimensions of sustainability such as rainwater harvesting, sewage treatment plant, and safety measures, including fire detection, prevention, and supressing system, with employee evacuation plans.

QuikJet Airlines, an ex-Indian cargo-only carrier, is planning to return back to the Indian skies soon. The airline has already taken its first aircraft, a 20-year-old Boeing 737-800 P2F, with another one arriving soon. According to reports, QuikJet 2.0 would fly Amazon Prime airplanes in India. QuikJet Airlines is a part of ASL Aviation Group, an aircraft services provider and leasing company based out of Dublin, Ireland. The carrier started scheduled services after receiving the relevant Air Operator Permit from Indian authorities in February 2016. QuikJet was already operating charter cargo services since 2012.

At the recently concluded 24th biennial convention, Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations’ in India (FFFAI) signed an MoU with FIATA to launch FIATA Bill of Lading (eFBL) in India. Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and AYUSH Sarbananda Sonowal formally launched it. “The implementation of eFBL will empower MSME customs brokers and Freight Forwarders Members of FFFAI to issue their own Bill of Lading using FIATA network. It will leverage the logistics industry without depending upon Liner Bill of Lading for Multimodal transportation and enhance their capability to enhance business thinking towards owning own container and establish Indian Flag registered Shipping Line,” said Shankar Shinde, Chairman, FFFAI. The Minister stressed upon the growing importance of an IT-driven logistics industry for faster cargo movement from manufactures to consumers across the globe. “FFFAI’s initiatives in this regard through services such as eFBL would make Indian products to reach their destination in less time and cost, which, in fact, will make the Indian products more competitive internationally,” he said.

On the occasion of 75th year of Independence, Cyrus Katgara, Partner – Jeena & Company says, “The Indian freight and logistics sector has evolved in leaps and bounds over decades. Although we have significantly augmented our transportation infrastructure over the past two decades, the country has much more to achieve to ensure that its infrastructure can meet the country’s demand for the future. At Jeena & Company, we have proudly witnessed the progression of the nation over decades, which inspired us to create our trajectory. Our legacy is a testament to our belief in ‘Make In India’ since our foundation. We pledge to skill and scale our human resources and operations to make a huge mark across the globe.”

Global air cargo flown tonnages continue to remain stable in the last two weeks compared to the preceding two weeks, while the previously reported softening trend of the worldwide average rates seems to have halted last week, the latest figures from WorldACD Market Data show. Looking at week 31 (August 1-7), worldwide chargeable weight decreased -3% compared with the previous week, and the average worldwide rate increased slightly, based on the more than 350,000 weekly transactions covered by WorldACD’s data and analysis of the main international air cargo lanes. Comparing the last two weeks with the preceding two weeks (2Wo2W), average worldwide rates decreased -1% while chargeable weight increased +1% and overall capacity remained stable. Chargeable weight from Central & South America remain on a particularly negative trend, with a decrease of resp. -7% to Europe and -6% to North America compared with the preceding two weeks. Middle East & South Asia outbound volumes show a strong continued increase at +11%, with the first half of July being impacted by the Eid Al-Adha holiday. For the overall global market, the last two weeks showed a worldwide rate increase of +10% compared with last year, despite a chargeable weight decline of -9% and a capacity increase of +7%. Higher fuel surcharges continue to influence overall air cargo prices relative to their levels last year.

At the recently concluded Federation of Freight Forwarders of India’s (FFFAI) 24th Biennial Convention, Chairman, Shankar Shinde put utmost importance of the fast-changing scenario of the global logistics industry due to the digital disruption. He said, “Currently the manufacturing industry is undergoing the phase of Industrial Revolution 4.0/Industry 4.0 because of massive use of information technology (IT) after witnessing the revolutions owing to the invention of steam engine, automation, and computerization.” Amrit Lal Meena, Additional Secretary – Logistics, Department of Commerce, GoI in his welcome speech highlighted the crucial role being played by the Customs Brokers, Freight Forwarders, and logistics service providers to streamline the manufacturing and EXIM trade in the country. He assured full support from the government to this sector through various forward looking and industry-friendly initiatives like PM Gati Shakti. Elaborating further on the spirit of the convention theme: “Logistics – Reshape, Embrace and Surge in the Digital Era,” FFFAI member, Vijayakumar urged the stakeholders for adopting the changes in the logistics landscape because of huge intervention of technology/IT and digitization. FFFAI office bearer, Shashi Kiran Shetty, also elaborated on the growth trajectory of India’s economy and potential of this country positioning as a manufacturing and efficient logistics hub. The convention was attended by over 600 delegates from across India.

New business from airlines investing in digitalisation has helped global freight booking and payment platform Freightos achieve strong growth in the SQ of 2022. Freightos recorded 1.5 lakh platform transactions, resulting in growth of 163% y-o-y in the second quarter. Gross Booking Value was US$155m—up 137 per cent y-o-y, while revenue was US$5.2 million—up 30 per cent y-o-y. Freightos Chief Executive Zvi Schreiber, said, “Freightos continues to demonstrate strong, predictable growth that exceeded targets, despite macroeconomic volatility that impacted consumer buying patterns, supply chains, and global freight. We are seeing excellent momentum, with the number of transactions growing 163 per cent y-o-y, as well as 137 per cent growth in GBV. Growth in transactions was fuelled on the supply side by major airline rollouts such as American Airlines Cargo, LATAM Cargo, and Air Canada Cargo, as well as increased bookings with existing carriers.”

Atlas Air is planning to extend its long-standing partnership with Australian airfreight carrier Qantas Freight to support Australia, Asia, and USA supply chains. The partnership between Atlas Air and Qantas Freight began in 2004. Under this extended agreement with Qantas Freight, Atlas Air will provide long-haul, widebody main deck capacity with two Boeing 747-400Fs operating its existing network linking Australia, Asia, and the USA. An additional 747-400F deal has also been extended to service the one-way USA-Australia-Hong Kong routing, boosting capacity to meet customer demand. “This important extension with Qantas Freight comes at a time of significant growth in the air freight industry. We look forward to supporting Qantas Freight, as it continues to expand its global freighter network,” said John Dietrich, Atlas Air Worldwide President, and Chief Executive.