C&L Magazine by Newsline

NEEDED: COLD CHAIN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR PERISHABLES AND PHARMA Volume III n No 11

JANUARY 2015 I `60

C A R G O

L O G I S T I C S

CARGO FROM LITTLE INDIA

Pioneering step by Vijaywada-based regional carrier Air Costa sees cargo movement from hinterland to Tier-1 cities

WIDER OR HIGHER? Size does matter for car-carrier body fabricators in the country since there is no uniform law specifying vehicle dimensions

MANAGING EDITOR’s NOTE

Hiccups and obstacles

recent news item all the way from the US (http://www.joc.com) could not help but surprise many in the logistics and cargo industry. The headline had a shocking effect: “Footwear industry warns of ‘catastrophe’ if US West Coast ports shut down”. Attributed to Matt Priest, president of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, the story pointed out the ongoing squabble between the Pacific Maritime Association and International Longshore Warehouse Union and the imminent threat by dock employers of barring the longshoremen. Priest said that requests had been sent out to both the parties to come to some form of agreement and start work otherwise America would be virtually without shoes. Though the prospect of barefeet Americans may sound and look rather funny, the country’s import figures for shoes is humongous. Last year, from January to November, 2.166 billion pairs of shoes made their way into the US with almost 95 per cent of them from China. Of this, the West Coast ports (Los Angeles-Long Beach) saw 866 million pairs of shoes. Apparently, this is a very crucial time for shoe retailers because children start going back to school in July and August. Additionally, this was also the time for spring and early summer footwear imports. That brings us to the crucial part that logistics plays. Imagine what would happen if the US West Coast ports stopped functioning: All imports would be directed to the East Coast forcing consumers in California and other western states to pay heavily for the truck journey from the east to the west. To add to the deteriorating situation, shipping lines would have their containerships tied up with unloaded shipments. Such situations can happen anywhere in the world and we are no exception. On a different plane altogether, the unavailability of onions comes to mind. While the government and politicians play the blaming game, it is the common man who suffers – and, incidentally, pays

a heavy price. On another level, however, with e-commerce becoming popular by the day, it is time the country ironed out its logistics infrastructure. A major study, DHL Global E-Tailing 2025, points out that countries like India with emerging markets will need to create infrastructure that will allow logistics companies to play their role as growth enablers. With large volumes moving from place to place, professional logistics chains will be needed. Today, the popularity of online shopping in the country has prompted e-commerce companies to invest heavily. A study by PwC and ASSOCHAM, the e-commerce industry will spend $950-1,900 million by 2017-2020 on infrastructure, logistics and warehousing. Way back in 2013, Jones Lasang LaSalle did an international study, E-commerce boom triggers transformation in retail logisitics, where it points out the deficiencies in the country’s logistics infrastructure that hinder efficient retail logisitics. One of the major issues concerns taxation and warehouses. Because of the tax structure, goods become costlier when they are moved across states. Added to that is VAT which is levied by the state when products are sold within the state in which a warehouse is located. This has forced e-retail entities to set up decentralized small warehouses in states as opposed to larger ones that enable more efficient warehouse operations. Once the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is implemented, it will bring in consolidation of distribution networks and the growth of larger warehouses. With all the promises being made by the government, the hope that the situation will change for a more conducive market remains alive. Or, will we have to wait till the whole country is under the dispensation of one party? Till then, happy reading!

tghosh@newsline.in

Cargo & Logistics I January 2015

contents ARTICLES NEWS VIEWS EDITS INTERVIEWS CLIPPINGS PROFILES NEWS DIGEST STATISTICS COLUMNS

CONTENTS

C&L

VOLUME III n NO 11

Editor-in-Chief

K SRINIVASAN Managing Editor TIRTHANKAR GHOSH

WIKIMEDIA

Consulting Editor RAMESH KUMAR

COVER STORY

p12

India is the fastest growing cargo market and domestic airlines play a vital role. India’s domestic airline Air Costa has started cargo services. The move will help the country’s retail and perishable market to reach out to destinations that were difficult to reach by air.

p16

Regular loss of perishables in the country has highlighted the need of cold chain infrastructure. A study mentioned that the development of an integrated supply chain, including cold chain can save up to `300 billion annually and at the same time reduce the wastage of perishable horticulture produce

PRODUCT

WIKIMEDIA

p21

The government and the industry have ambitions to grow the vehicle and component output. But major problem faced by auto OEMs is dimensional challenges of car-carriers. Body fabricators in the country have always faced challenges in deciding the right size of vehicles since there is no law specifying vehicle dimensions.

Correspondents ANJANA TANWAR, NAVEED ANJUM, CHARCHIT SINGH

Picture Editor PRADEEP CHANDRA Photo Editor HC TIWARI Staff Photographer HEMANT RAWAT Director (Admin & Corporate Affairs) RAJIV SINGH

The Globe, owned by Shanghai-based China Shipping Container Lines is about the size of eight Olympic-sized swimming pools. The size of the ship allows it to carry as many as 19,100 standard 20-foot (or roughly six metre-long) containers.

SPECIAL REPORT

Sr. Proof Reader RAJESH VAID

Designers NAGENDER DUBEY, MOHIT KANSAL

CSCL

SPOTLIGHT

Senior Sub-Editor-cum-Reporter PUNIT MISHRA

NEWS IN BRIEF

The Bengaluru Airfreight Terminal facility of Air India SATS Airport Services (AISATS) received its Good Distribution Practices (GDP) certification recently becoming the first service provider in India with such a certification. In the land section, Central government has launched a web portal for online approval of movement of Over Dimensional and Over Weight Cargo.

Vice President (Business Development) VINOD KAUL Subscription ALKA SHARMA, JUHI ROHILLA Distribution PANKAJ KUMAR, BHUSAN KUMAR Executive Director RENU MITTAL For advertising and sales enquiries, please contact:

+91-9810030533, 9810159332 Editorial & Marketing office: News Kingdom Media Pvt. Ltd., 20, Nizamuddin West Market, Nizamuddin West, New Delhi –110 013, Tel: +91-11-41033381-82 All information in C&L is derived from sources we consider reliable. It is passed on to our readers without any responsibility on our part. Opinions/views expressed by third parties in abstract or in interviews are not necessarily shared by us. Material appearing in the magazine cannot be reproduced in whole or in part(s) without prior permission. The publisher assumes no responsibility for material lost or damaged in transit. The publisher reserves the right to refuse, withdraw or otherwise deal with all advertisements without explanation. All advertisements must comply with the Indian Advertisements Code. The publisher will not be liable for any loss caused by any delay in publication, error or failure of advertisement to appear. Owned and published by K Srinivasan 4C Pocket- IV, Mayur Vihar Phase–I, Delhi–91 and printed by him at Nutech Photolithographers, B–240, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase–I, New Delhi–110020.

IVCPL

Cover Design: Nagender Dubey

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

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JUST IN TIME

INDIA CARGO MARKET GROWING FAST

FINNAIR CARGO

TREND

RISING HIGH: Cargo being loaded on a freighter

he recent WorldACD market data has pointed out that India is the fastest growing of the large markets with 13.5 per cent outgoing volume growth since 2011, coupled with a dismal yield performance in USD (-20 per cent). Incoming volume slipped slightly, but incoming yields fell considerably less than the worldwide average. Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai count for 70 per cent of India’s outgoing cargo. The fastest growing cities in general are Hyderabad and Kochi. Bengaluru and Hyderabad show the highest growth in pharmaceuticals. Airlines from the Middle East profit most from India’s growth, followed by airlines from Europe. Asia Pacific based airlines are losing market share, particularly in the markets from India to Europe. “The first indications published pointed to good November results. The month indeed did not disappoint, though yearover-year (YoY) growth slowed compared to earlier months. The lower figure of 4.3 per cent volume growth was influenced by the fact that, in 2013, November had shown a large jump over October. Worldwide November-yields again topped those for October, this time by growing 1.7 per cent (in USD). Yet, people predicting declining yields were also right: worldwide yield went down by 4 per cent YoY. Interestingly, yield excluding surcharges dropped less, a sign that changing fuel surcharges may begin to have an influence”, WorldACD said.

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

Asia-Pacific Largest Market: According to WorldACD, the Trans-Pacific market was the best of the large markets in November. Air cargo revenues ex-USA dropped by 9 per cent Month-over-Month (MoM) across the Pacific. From Asia Pacific to North America, however, growth in revenues MoM was 17 per cent, yield increase was 9 per cent. Recent traffic figures from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) also showed that the Asia-Pacific was the world’s largest air freight market in 2014 with a 40 per cent share in terms of world FTKs. World scheduled freight traffic, measured in Freight Tonne Kilometres (FTKs), grew strongly by 4.6 per cent in 2014. The recent traffic figures by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) also said that the most significant growth was recorded by carriers in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions, at 5.9 per cent and 12.9 per cent, respectively. Carriers in these regions captured the vast majority of the global increase (93 per cent). Carriers in Asia-Pacific accounted for 55 per cent of the total year-on-year growth (with a market share of 39.7 per cent), while airlines in the Middle East region contributed a further 38 per cent of growth (with a market share of 13.3 per cent). IATA also said that demand for global air freight is expected to rise by 4.5 per cent in 2015, driven by growth in cross-border trade.

Reducing weight is one of the key ways in which the airline industry can meet today’s biggest challenges. Lighter planes are more fuel efficient and emit fewer emissions. Air France-KLM is fully committed to reducing the company’s CO2 footprint. Weight reduction on board the aircraft is an important part of that effort. After the successful introduction of lightweight pallet nets in 2013, another big step has now been taken with the introduction of lightweight pallets. “Due to an innovative construction process, the new lightweight aluminum pallet is as strong as the current pallet, but weighing 17 kg less,” the carrier said in a statement. The current standard pallet weighs 100 kg, while the new lightweight pallet is 83 kg. “Gradually all pallets in the Air France-KLM-Martinair pallet stock will be replaced by these lightweight pallets, leading to a significant reduction of CO2 emissions,” it added. Earlier, in mid-2013 Air France-KLM-Martinair Cargo became the first commercial airline to replace its polyester (PET) aviation pallet nets with air cargo Lightweight nets. Pallet nets are only 9kg – around half that of a conventional polyester air cargo net helping in reducing fuel costs and CO2 emissions. “Air France-KLM-Martinair Cargo is proud to remain on the front line of innovation and technical research, providing its customers the best in quality with a strong CSR commitment,” company said.

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JUST IN TIME

The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), under Department of Revenue, India’s Ministry of Finance, has issued a circular announcing extension of 24x7 Customs clearance facility at 13 more airports in respect of all export goods and at 14 more sea ports in respect of specified import and export goods. “Board has decided that with effect from December 31, 2014 the facility of 24×7 Customs clearance for specified imports viz goods covered by ‘facilitated’ Bills of Entry and specified exports viz factory stuffed containers and goods exported under free Shipping Bills will be made available, at 18 sea ports,” CBEC said in its circular. The sea ports are: Chennai, Cochin, Ennore, Gopalpur, JNPT, Kakinada, Kandla, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Mangalore, Marmagoa, Mundra, Okha, Paradeep, Pipavav, Sikka, Tuticorin, and Vishakapatnam. “Board has also decided that with effect from Decem-

WIKIMEDIA

24×7 CUSTOMS CLEARANCE AT AIRPORTS AND SEAPORTS

ber 31, 2014 the facility of 24×7 Customs clearance for specified imports viz goods covered by facilitated Bills of Entry and all exports viz goods covered by all Shipping Bills will be made available, at 17 air cargo complexes,” the circular said. The 17 complexes are: Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Kochi, Calicut, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur,

Kolkata, Mumbai, Nashik, Thiruanantapuram, and Vishakapatnam. CBEC said related issues such as availability of required personnel, keeping open the delivery gates 24x7 at air cargo complexes etc have been resolved. “It is expected that an effective 24x7 Customs clearance facility will greatly facilitate trade and reduce transaction cost,” the circular said.

E-AWB PENETRATION HITS TARGET

n November, e-AWB penetration reached 23.4 per cent, an increase of 2.3 per cent from October, reaching the industry target of 22 per cent. In October, e-AWB penetration reached 20.7 per cent, 0.8 per cent up from September. Overall, the industry has witnessed steady positive growth in 2014. A growing number of joint industry initiatives were launched around the world, which enabled significant growth across all regions. Some of the key achievements in 2014 include the success in BRIC countries. Opening of Shanghai for e-AWB this year has been a key milestone that put it on the right track for next year. 16 airlines have now implemented Single Process, compared to 7 at the start of the year. At the beginning of the year, only 59

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

airlines and 500 freight forwarders joined Multilateral e-AWB Agreement (MeA) and now e-AWB closed the year with more

than 80 airlines and 1700 forwarders, with Kuehne-Nagel (K+N) being the latest global freight forwarder to join. % e-AWB Penetration

% Growth month over month

South Korea

33.6%

10.2%

Turkey

23.2%

5.3%

Denmark

20.2%

4.9%

Kenya Airways

27.7%

7.6%

IAG - British Airways

32.8%

6.7%

Qatar Airways

27.8%

6.5%

Fashion Logistics Forwarders

67.8%

9.5%

DSV

25.8%

5.9%

DHL Express

42.0%

4.4%

COUNTRY/LOCATION

AIRLINES

FREIGHT FORWARDERS

Sindhu Educational Institutes (P) Ltd Sindhu Educational Institute is a brainchild of one of the reputed logistics company in India namely Sindhu Cargo Services Limited, Bangalore. The logistics sector has been facing the dearth of quality manpower and realizing the very need, Sindhu Cargo has started an educational training institute dedicated entirely to different aspects of logistics, shared through well structured training programs. The Institute is headed by Mr. J.S.A. Julius who is retired Deputy Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise. He carries the rich experience of imparting training to the officers of the department through National Academy for Customs, Excise & Narcotics.

FACILITIES Sprawling campus is equipped with the latest technology and infrastructure that proves to be a great advantage for the students. The facilities at the campus include library, canteen, transport. COURSES OFFERRED  Job Oriented Certificate Course on Logistics Management(6 months)  One Year weekend Certificate Course on Logistic Management for Working Professionals  Specialized Certificate Course on Logistic Management subjects (3 months)  Preparation for G-card / Custom Brokers Exam - weekend for 3 months  Fresh batch of Job oriented certificate course starts on 19th January 2015 (6 months)  G-Card preparations on Saturdays from 3pm to 6 pm in Nov 2014, Dec & Jan 2015 (Total: 30 hours)  F- Card (Rule-6 )preparation on Sundays from 10.30 am to 5.00pm in Nov , Dec & Jan 2015(Total: 30 hrs) More details will be available in our website, www.sindhuedu.com

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www.sindhuedu.com

CAFETERIA

NUMBERS

23%

RISE IN FREIGHT EARNINGS FOR SCR

South Central Railway (SCR) increased its freight earnings by over 23 per cent during the nine months of the current fiscal as compared to the year-ago period. Increased coal loadings and new export-import commodities helped SCR to earn the profit. In the last three quarters, the zone raked in a freight earning of `6,614 crore against `5,359 crore in the corresponding period of the last financial year. Freight earnings account for almost 70 per cent of the total revenues of the zone. The loadings stand at 85.78 Million Tonnes (mt) during the period, an increase of 10 per cent. SCR also managed to bag some new cargo such as imported iron ore from Krishnapatnam port to Jindal Steel, export cement containers, stone chips from Balanagar and quartz from Veldurti.

`3,141

5.04% ä

Indian Railways carried 808.56 million tonnes of revenue earning freight traffic during the April 1-December 31, 2014 period. The freight carried shows an increase of 38.82 million tonnes over the freight traffic of 768.74 million tonnes actually carried during the corresponding period in 2013, registering an increase of 5.04 per cent.

During the month of December 2014, revenue earning freight traffic carried by Indian Railways was 95.46 million tonnes. This was an increase of 3.30 million tonnes over the actual freight traffic of 92.16 million tonnes carried by the Indian Railways during the same period last year, showing an increase of 3.58 per cent.

94%

DRUG SMUGGLING CASES

CR PROJECTS FOR MPT

As part of its plans for expansion, Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) has lined up ambitious projects valued at `3,141 crore. “Mormugao Port Trust has plans to award nine major projects for expansion, entailing an investment of `3,141 crore,” MPT Chairman Cyril C George said. According to George, the projects are awaiting approval from the Ministry of Road Transport, Highways and Shipping and will be awarded through public-private partnership (PPP) mode. Six projects are for construction of berths/terminals at the Port, including a `950-crore project for development of a multipurpose cargo berth. Another project worth `520 crore is for conversion of the existing iron ore berth and ore handling plant for general cargo. Four other projects worth `810 crore are for offshore liquid bulk holding, general cargo berth project in lieu of ship repair yard in the harbour area, development of Vasco Bay and development of dedicated berths for Navy and Coast Guard north of Vasco Bay.

FREIGHT LOADING UP FOR INDIAN RAILWAY

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

The central Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), nodal authority for drugs and narcotics enforcement in the country, recently released data for the full year of 2013 which points out that the four major international airports of the country — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata — saw around 94 per cent of instances of drugs smuggling and seizures. Of a total 63 incidents of narcotics detection and seizure at airports in the country in 2013, 59 were reported from these air facilities. Only six per cent of cases were detected at the airports of Guwahati, Bengaluru and Madurai. While Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport reported a total of 17 drugs seizure cases during the same period, the Chennai airport had 16 such instances and Kolkata and Mumbai airports registered 13 such instances each during 2013.

NUMBERS

`4006 $800 CR ORDERS FOR L&T

The construction arm of LARSEN & TOUBRO (L&T) has won orders worth `4006 crore across various business segments in the month of December 2014 in both the domestic and international markets, company said in a press release. “A major order has been received from a reputed customer in Odisha for the construction of 48 km of railway lines for the transportation of coal from coal mines for their thermal power station. Scope of work also includes building a water pipeline along the railway line. A road project on Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode has been bagged from NHAI for the development and up-gradation of the Bijapur-Gulbarga-Homnabad section of NH-218 in the state of Karnataka. Additional orders worth `440 cr have been also received from ongoing domestic and international projects” release added.

`48,000 ä

INCREASE IN RATES BY MAERSK LINE

Maersk Line plans to increase shipping freight rates for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe by $800 per twenty-foot container (TEU) from mid-January 2015, the company said. Freight rates for container shipping from Asia to Northern Europe fell by 5.6 per cent to $1,085 per TEU, data showed. Rates on the route, which is the world’s busiest for container shipping, were 28 per cent lower than at the same time in 2013. Maersk Line, the world’s biggest container shipper with nearly 600 container vessels and part of A.P. Moller-Maersk, is one of few container shipping firms to have made a net profit in the first six months of 2014. Maersk Line controls around one-fifth of all transported containers from Asia to Europe.

CR 3PL MARKET BY 2019

According to a report by research and consultancy firm RNCOS, the Third Party Logistics (3PL) market in India is expected to touch `48,000 crore by 2019, mostly fuelled by outsourcing especially in retail, pharmaceutical. The Indian 3PL market is geared for a robust growth in 2014-2019. It is anticipated to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 21 per cent. The Government’s investment towards development of freight corridors, ports and highways, increasing demand by pharmaceutical industry and significant growth of e-commerce industry will be the other growth drivers for the sector, it added. The third-party logistics has proved to be successful in enhancing logistics efficiency of many organisations and has rapidly gained popularity while spreading across the country, the report said.

US$10

MILLION INVESTED BY APL TO BUY IILPL

APL Logistics Ltd acquired the remaining 24 per cent shareholding in India Infrastructure & Logistics Private Limited (IILPL), a company that operates freight rail train services in India, from its joint venture partner, HIPE Transportation Infrastructure Ventures Private Limited. With this acquisition, IILPL will become a wholly owned subsidiary of APL Logistics, the company said in a press release. “The consideration for the acquisition is approximately US$10.0 million and was arrived at after arm’s length negotiations on a willing buyer, willing seller basis, taking into consideration, among others, the financial position and business prospects of IILPL,” it added.

Cargo & Logistics I January 2015

COVER STORY

Connecting thru cargo Venturing out to Tier-II and Tier-III cities, the Vijaywada-based regional airline Air Costa has started cargo services. The move will help the country’s retail and perishable market to reach out to destinations that were difficult to reach by air. Complementing Air Costa is the Sovika Group that is all set to start air cargo operations to the North-East, reports TIRTHANKAR GHOSH

he domestic air cargo sector in India is still in its nascent stages. This, despite the fact that the country’s retail market is likely to touch Rs 47 trillion (US$738.71 billion) by 2016-17, expanding at a compounded annual growth rate of 15 per cent, according to a study by Yes Bank-Assocham. The growth will come because of favourable demographics, increasing urbanisation, nuclearisation of families, rising affluence amid consumers, growing preference for branded products and higher aspirations, said the study. Add to that the Indian online retail market that is estimated to touch US$14.5 billion by 2018 and one would assume that there would be a proliferation of air cargo carriers serving domestic routes. Unfortunately, due to a variety of reasons, the number of air cargo carriers have stagnated. The country saw quite a few start-ups which vanished within a short while. However, this time around, a passenger start-up has decided to start air cargo services. Based in Vijaywada – a major trading and business centre in South India – regional airline Air Costa which celebrated its first year of existence in October last year started cargo services in December 2014. The carrier has four Embraer E-jets (two E-170s and two E-190s) and flies from its base in Vijaywada to nine destinations that include Chennai, Jaipur, Ahmadabad and Bengaluru. It will get an additional E-190 soon. Air Costa would not have made news had it not ordered 50 of Brazil’s Embraer

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

E-Jets E2 on February 13, 2014 at the Singapore Airshow. The announcement of the order pointed to Air Costa’s credibility. Here was a regional airline that was in the business for the long haul. The E2s – in fact, the largest ever order from a regional jet by any Indian airline – would strengthen the point-to-point regional connectivity to Tier-II and Tier-III cities: the market which holds 70 per cent of the Indian population and promises the largest growth rate. Led by CEO Capt. K N Babu, Air Costa has outsourced its cargo handling to a Mumbai-based chartered aviation company, Sovika Group. Said a spokesperson from Sovika on its foray into air cargo, “The Indian Air Cargo vertical is on a high growth trajectory and it will continue to be fuelled by favourable factors.” He mentioned that a KPMG report had stated that the average weight-load factor of air cargo in the last five years had been approximately 62 per cent “which implies that there is still room for growth. We may see a fleet size of 800 by 2020 by Indian carriers which further strengthens the argument that the air cargo sector is indeed flourishing despite the industry being overtaxed coupled with the availability of poor infrastructure facilities. Relaxation of FDI norms is a good sign as it will give a much need boost to the sector by bringing in required capital and expertise.” Air Costa and Sovika tie-up will see all the unused belly space in aircraft being made available for cargo. In fact, cargo operations started from Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru and by the middle of the

month of December 2014, operations were in full swing. Air Costa’s aim is to carry 500 tonnes of cargo every month. Said Capt Babu, “Sovika Group has partnered with Air Costa as our authorised Cargo Agent for pan-India operations. Sovika would be completely responsible for generation of sales, documents check as well as acceptance of cargo at designated warehouses across the country for all the cargo that would obviously be carried on Air Costa flights.” This correspondent spoke to Capt Babu to find out what prompted Air Costa to start cargo operations. He pointed out why cargo was important for air cargo: “Cargo,” he said, “is an integral part of Civil Aviation and moving pax and cargo together, completes the circle of an airline operations. Moreover the demand for carriage of cargo was also quite high and encouraging.” However, the CEO was quick to point out that “it would be too early to comment on exact sales figures since the project is still at

COVER STORY

“As we are planning to go for pan-India operations, in our continued efforts to provide passengers with increasing range of services, with the launch of cargo services we are confident of handling additional cargo loads and serving a large customer base over years to come.”

Ramesh Lingamaneni Chairman, Air Costa

GREAT MOVE: (Above) Cargo being loaded on an Air Costa aircraft in Vijayawada,(top) Air Costa’s Embraer E-jets at one of the Indian airports

a nascent stage having just commenced operations. However, we have a clear vision towards becoming an established player in the cargo vertical in the coming years.” Ramesh Lingamaneni, Chairman - Air Costa, was confident that the air cargo business would be able to serve a large number of customers. He said: “Air Costa has been a leading provider of passenger services and completed one year of operations in

October 2014. As we are planning to go for pan-India operations, in our continued efforts to provide passengers with increasing range of services, with the launch of cargo services we are confident of handling additional cargo loads and serving a large customer base over years to come.” In addition to tying up with Air Costa, Sovika has decided to start air cargo operations in the North-East. The move is in tune

with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to change the country’s ‘Look East’ policy to an ‘Act East’ policy. The policy prompted the aviation ministry to ensure that the country’s North-Eastern region is better connected. In fact, the new draft civil aviation policy has specifically mentioned that special package would be developed for the North-East. The landlocked region has remained

Cargo & Logistics I January 2015

COVER STORY

under-developed — one of the main reasons being lack of connectivity. While a number of domestic airlines have regular flights to the region’s main airports spanning across eight States like Guwahati, Agartala, Imphal, Aizawl, Dimapur and Sikkim, there are no dedicated cargo flights. Road and rail connections are doing the job but they are time-consuming. Freighter flights from Kolkata do, however, take place but they are few and far between. The Mumbai-based Sovika Group has

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

charted out plans to launch a regular dedicated cargo airline service. Starting in the next couple of months with its base in Kolkata, the Sovika Aviation Services’ daily cargo service will see an ATR72 plying to the airports in the North-East. There were 17 airports in the 1970s but today there are only 11 functioning. Speaking about the services, Akhilesh Rao, Senior Vice President, Sovika Group, told this correspondent, “We had been toying with the idea for quite some time.

Aviation is not new to us. We have been in this business i.e Air Craft Leasing/Charters/ Ground Handling/Terminal Management/ Passenger GSA/Cargo GSA/ Business Aviation charters for more than two decades. We realised that the North-East was one of the under-developed regions and flying cargo flights would help the region’s economy hence we have decided to take this initiative forward,” Rao emphasised that the flights would be in tune with the government’s ‘Act East’ policy.

COVER STORY

“Cargo is an integral part of Civil Aviation and moving pax and cargo together, completes the circle of an airline operations. Moreover the demand for carriage of cargo was also quite high and encouraging.”

Capt. K N Babu CEO, Air Costa

Sovika’s management has done the required groundwork and have received 100 per cent support and assurance from the governments in Assam and Meghalaya. Along with the state governments of the region, the local trading community too, has welcomed the move and given assurance of their full support. Sovika hopes the freighter flights will be economically viable. “We hope to carry at least 10 tonnes of cargo to and from the Northeast every day. While cargo is carried

by passenger aircraft, there are delays since there is lack of space in the aircraft,” said Rao. It is mandatory for domestic operators to operate commercial flights to the North-East – even though they might not be viable. Flights to the region have to adhere to the civil aviation ministry’s Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG) which makes it obligatory for all Indian carriers to connect to destinations in the North-East and other remote parts of the country. To lessen the financial burden for operating such

flights that are not economically viable but socially important, the government provides a subsidy. Almost two years ago, the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) had sent out a proposal to subsidise flights by private domestic carriers. The move came after a number of private airlines told the government that they would reduce the number of flights to the airports of the North-East because of operation losses. To encourage flights, for example, small aircraft like the ATRs do not have to pay airport charges in the NorthEast while Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) is available at only four per cent VAT instead of the 25-30 per cent for bigger aircraft. In fact, a couple of months ago, the North Eastern Council (NEC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Air India subsidiary Alliance Air to operate ATR flights in North-East till 2016. For this, the NEC has assured to get concessions for ATF, etc. Alliance Air had been operating 65 flights a week to the region till the end of 2012. After that, due to non-receipt of the government subsidy, the carrier had reduced capacity, operating only on the economically viable routes. A recent Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)-PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report, Gateway to the ASEAN-India’s North-East Frontier, has pointed out that while connectivity has improved in the region, intra-regional air connectivity was sparse.

Cargo & Logistics I January 2015

SPOTLIGHT

COLD DISCOMFORT The country is a leader in IT and business outsourcing in the world — employing more than half the workforce in the country — but generates less than a fifth of national income. Today, towns and villages are only ‘just connected’: an inefficient supply chain that sees as much as 40 per cent of perishables being lost before even reaching the buyers. What is needed is a cold chain infrastructure that will not only ensure longer shelf life but also bring down prices. To top it all, a solid infrastructure will strengthen the healthcare sector since it will benefit the pharma industry and help maintain the efficacy of the drug throughout the supply chain. A report First a look at the facts: India has 6,300 cold storage facilities unevenly spread across the country, with an installed capacity of 30.11 million metric tonnes • Organized players contribute only 8 per cent —10 per cent of the cold chain industry market • Around 36 per cent of these cold storages have capacity below 1,000 MT

WIKIMEDIA

•

STORAGE FACILITY: A commercial cold storage in Kolkata

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

(65 per cent of the country’s cold chain storage capacity is contributed by the states of Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal) • In the current capacity less than 11 per cent of what is produced can be stored During 2013–14, the production of fruits and vegetables was 254 million MT against which available temperature controlled storage capacity was 31.82 million

MT. “There is need of more cold storage facilities for these horticulture crops”, Minister of State for Agriculture Mohanbhai Kundariya said recently in the Rajya Sabha. The current spend on organised warehousing in our country constitutes 9 per cent of total logistics spending, as against 25 per cent in the US. According to the World Bank’s 2014 Logistics Performance

SPOTLIGHT

B S SEA FOODS

COLD CHAIN: A large refrigerated van which is used in transporting of refrigerated goods

HIGH PRODUCTION

(PRODUCTION FIGURES FROM 2013-14)

HORTICULTURE FOODGRAIN MILK FISH & MARINE

280.8 Million MT 264.4 Million MT 132.4 Million MT 9.58 Million MT

HIGH WASTAGE (PER ANNUM AT 2009 WHOLESALE PRICES)

4-18% = `44,143 CRORES LOSSES OF MAJOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE AT THE TIME OF HARVEST AND POST HARVEST

British engineering think tank, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) in July 2014, the country will see more than $15 billion being spent over the next five years on improving the cold chain.

SOURCES- MOFPI

Indicator, India is ranked 54th and is behind countries such as Japan, the United States, Germany and China. Logistics costs account for around 6-10 per cent of average retail prices in India as against the global average of 4-5 per cent. This presents, according to a recent study by ONICRA Credit Rating Agency of India Limited, Indian Cold Chain Industry: Modernisation of the Cold Storage Infrastructure, an opportunity to improve margins by 3-5 per cent by enhancing the efficiency of the supply chain and logistics processes. The study also mentions that the development of an integrated supply chain, including cold chain can save up to `300 billion annually and at the same time reduce the wastage of perishable horticulture produce. There is hope. The country’s integrated cold chain industry – surface storage as well as refrigerated transport – has been growing at a CAGR of more than 20 per cent for the last three years and in the next three years – by 2017 – the cold chain market is expected to reach `624 billion. According to another study released by the

The concept of cold storage is still in its infancy. The 6,300 cold storages mentioned are widely used for a single commodity that constitutes only 20 per cent of agricultural revenues: potatoes. As a result, only around

Cargo & Logistics I January 2015

SPOTLIGHT

four million tonnes of the approximately 104 million tonnes of fresh produce transported in the country every year does so in a cold chain. In our country, only a measly two per cent of horticulture products are kept in temperature-controlled conditions. China, for example, stores 15 per cent while Europe and North America stores 85 per cent of their products. Of the total annual production, 30-40 per cent is wasted before consumption. During the peak production period, the gap between the demand and supply of cold storage capacity is approximately 25 million tonnes. Of the existing cold storage capacity, around 65 per cent is concentrated in the north of the country – Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal – while the remaining 35 per cent is spread out across India. In such a situation, the government has chalked out plans to boost cold storage facilities with the growth in the consumption of processed foods. The prospects for the food-processing sector along with government incentives (including 51 per cent FDI) has encouraged foreign investors in the cold chain business. FDI would bring in more automation, mechanised operations and hygienic operating conditions. The ONICRA study also emphasizes that cold storage facilities in the country have been “largely adopted for long-term storage of potatoes, onions and high value crops like apples, grapes and flowers. 75

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

per cent of the cold storage capacity is used to store potatoes, while only 23 per cent fall in the multi-product category. Cold storages for meat, fish and dairy items and for other items such as chilies and other spices account for only 1 per cent of total

cold storage capacity. These cold storages are also usually smaller in capacity. Much of this multi-purpose cold storage capacity is located in the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and in the National Capital Region (NCR)”. Setting up cold storages might be easy but one will have to factor into account high energy costs. The ONICRA study points out that the operating cost for “the cold storage business in India are approximately `80-90 per cubic ft. per year as compared to `40 per cubic ft. per year in the West. Energy expenses alone make up about 30 per cent of the total expenses for the cold storage industry in India compared to 10 percent in the West. These factors pose as a high entry barriers to potential players in the business” (also see Cryogen to counter challenge). Added to the cost of power is the rise in real estate price and as a result the cost of setting up a cold storage unit is also rising. The ONICRA study points out that “it constitutes approximately 10-12 per cent of the

Cryogen to counter challenge

he IMechE report also mentioned that India was on the brink of a large-scale investment in cold chain infrastructure. It said that “if the nation pursues the business-as-usual approach (as far as investment in cold chain infrastructure was concerned), will contribute further to the country’s severe urban pollution. The report has suggested an alternative. “A cryogen based approach presents an opportunity to develop not only vital cleantech based sustainable cold chain infrastructure, without the inevitable drawbacks of diesel-based refrigeration, but also a much broader range of zero-emissions cold and transport services that could be described as the beginnings of a cold economy”. The country, according to the report, “has already seen the substantial impact on transport emissions from a rapidly expanding urban population. The growth in urban middle classes will lead to a major increase

in demand for cold chains and urban refrigerated vehicles; not just to meet the core demand for food, but also the proliferation of convenience products and changed dietary preferences. The challenge is not just how to meet the growth in refrigerated transport and manage emissions, but also how to deliver food produce into grid-locked city centres; especially to meet the projected new demands of e-commerce, which is often time specific as to delivery.” A practical initial route to a successful outcome, the report said, is to apply a systems approach and begin building capacity and capability for development of a cryogen based cold chain in India using existing surplus nitrogen capacity, located in industrial cities. In these deployments, reefers cooled using nitrogen fuelled TRUs will bring food into the range of the city centres where fleets of driver-owned cryogen fuelled small vehicles will facilitate the last mile delivery.

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About Us SPEEDMAN LOGISTICS’ foray into logistics industry is not just for creating another logistics company. It is a lifetime commitment to excellence and trust that our customers can bank upon. Our infrastructural strength supports in feeding arround two thousand destinations in India. We are soundly backed by our customer support and professional staff members with full fleet of various vehicles.

Our Mission • To establish lifelong associations, retain clients and increase the number of customers trading every week. • Improve the percentage of deliveries made on time. • Decrease the number of outstanding invoice queries at the end of each week. • Increase the frequency of contacts with existing and prospective customers. • High-integrity workplace atmosphere. • Empowerment of employees.

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RGIA

SPOTLIGHT

GAME CHANGER: A view of the pharma zone at Hyderabad International Airport

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

PROJECTS COMPLETED

DEC’13 - MAY’14

SCHEME 2

INTEGRATED COLD CHAINS

CURRENT REQUIREMENT IN THE COLD STORAGE CAPACITY IS ABOUT 29 MILLION TONNES

PROJECTS COMPLETED

JUNE’14 - DEC’14

91% OF THE FUNDS FOR THIS SCHEME HAS BEEN UTILISED

SOURCES- MOFPI

project cost. Also, as these units are not mobile, so choosing the right location becomes a critical factor. Being a capital-intensive project, it requires heavy investment in fixed assets like plant and machinery, building, insulation and panels…Typically, a traditional cold storage of multi-tier walk in with a capacity of 6,000 tons would cost `5 crore, excluding land”, the study said. One must also bear in mind that cold chain companies generate low returns – Return on capital employed (ROCE) has been low, according to a study. Most of the companies operating in the cold chain industry are capital intensive (cost of real estate and refrigeration equipments) and hence the ROCE is low. A major part of the funding in the cold chain industry is done through debt funding and this has resulted in heavy interest expenses. The cold chain industry is emerging as a fast-growing business sector in India and to develop a world-class cold chain infrastructure, government and industry bodies need to work in collaboration to encourage the adoption of better and more efficient refrigeration technologies that can prolong the shelf life of food products and bring commensurate economic returns to the farmers. India needs a more effective, efficient and well-thought-out cold storage infrastructure. The technology of construction has undergone a phenomenal change from conventional brick-wall construction to sandwich insulated panel and reinforced concrete (RCC) structures to pre-engineered buildings (PEB) steel structures

energy-efficient practices like energy recovery systems, energy-efficient designs of refrigeration equipment and automation are some of the innovative features. Efforts need to be made in order to introduce the concept of green technology, as also the use of renewable energy for the cold chain sector. Special emphasis needs to be laid on development of reefer infrastructure in view of India’s exports thrust and potential. Besides, to boost the investments, financial institutions should play a major role to encourage the investment in cold chain industry in terms of term loan sanctioning, nominal interest rates and disbursement. The growth cannot happen without their support. The state government must make a step towards subsidising the electrical

tariffs, encouraging use of renewable energies, etc in order to boost the development of cold chain infrastructure in India. Among the government’s initiatives are schemes for capital investment subsidy from the National Horticulture Board (NHB), the National Horticulture Mission (NHM) and the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) for agri-investors to set up cold chain infrastructure. Also a National Centre for Cold Chain Development (NCCD) has been planned that will help in establishing building standards through international benchmarking and to promote research and development activity in the cold chain sector. The government has also established partnership with Indian Railways to set up cold chain infrastructure.

SPECIAL REPORT

Size does matter

A major problem faced by auto OEMs is dimensional challenges of car-carriers. In fact, car-carrier body fabricators and transporters in the country have always faced challenges in deciding the right size of vehicles since there is no law specifying vehicle dimensions. Consulting Editor Ramesh Kumar and Sarada Vishnubhatla met fabricators to file this exclusive report and interview LONG WAIT: With the Haryana government banning vehicle carriers that do not have Fitness Certificates, the imbroglio about size has ended

he long-pending ticklish vehicle dimension imbroglio that pitted the vehicle carriers working for auto OEMs and the authorities is finally getting sorted out. The northern state of Haryana seems to be taking the lead in ‘disciplining’ the stakeholders – both auto OEMs and vehicle carriers – at last with an iron fist. Haryana’s role assumes importance in the light of the fact that Maruti Suzuki, country’s numero uno passenger car manufacturer, and Hero Motocorp, India’s number one two-wheeler manufacturer operate out of this state with multiple plants. It is no secret that almost a major chunk

of such illegal vehicles to a standstill. It of 60,000 carriers of two — and four-wheelrefused to renew FCs when vehicles came ers and white goods do not follow the prefor re-registration (without which vailing vehicle dimension norms. no vehicle can ply on roads). Haryana, which was almost at The Haryana government, the forefront of permitting It is no in fact, had gone a step the movement of such secret that almost a further and banned the illegal dimensioned vemajor chunk of 60,000 movement of all carhicles through ad hoc carriers of two - and riers registered under Fitness Certificates four-wheelers and its jurisdiction (with (FC) issued annually white goods do not “HR” tag preceding for every individual follow the prevailing the vehicle number vehicle, has in Devehicle dimension displayed). Virtually, cember 2014 put its foot norms the entire vehicle movedown and in a single fiat ment was affected because a brought the entire movement

Cargo & Logistics I January 2015

SPECIAL REPORT

Daman Dewan major chunk of carriers are Haryana-registered. Obviously, Maruti Suzuki and Hero Motocorp were worst hit. Carrier operators under the banners of the Automobile Carrier Welfare Association (for two- wheeler and white goods) and Car Carriers Association (for passenger cars) had no option but to rustle up support to get going. After long and protracted negotiations between the transport department of Haryana government, auto OEMs and carrier operators in Chandigarh, a solution has been hammered out. Under the new dispensation, the Haryana government has agreed to: • One year extension to all vehicles waiting for FC; • A surety bond of `200,000 from each operator that they would comply with the prevailing Central Motor Vehicle Regulations (CMVR) when the current spell of ‘benevolence’ ends and no more extensions sought or permitted. Under the current CMVR norms, every norm is flouted. While car carriers boast of anything beyond permissible 18 metres in length, two-wheeler and white good carriers’ dimensions in width and height are illegal. The new government has indicated that the new amended Motor Vehicle Act is likely to address the issue on hand. Carriers are hopeful that their lobbying – coupled with the might of the auto OEMs’ lobby under the Society of Indian Automotive Manufacturers (SIAM) – would alleviate their ‘challenges’ with the new Act conceding their demand for upwardly revised vehicle dimensions.

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

STRONG MAKER: Body of a car carrier being built in a factory

Car Carrier Association President Vipul Nanda and Automobile Carrier Welfare Association General Secretary Daman Dewan found time to talk with C&L. Excerpts:

What does the CMVR say? Vipul Nanda: CMVR specifies 18 meters for our trailers but the new CMVR Act will probably come with 18.75 meters. Today, most of our trailers are 22 meters. We have written to the government that all these so called anomalies exist because rules are not clear. We told them, “Tell us what the rules are and we will follow”. Having said that, let it be made clear that this (vehicle carrier) industry cannot sustain with the 18 meters rule. It has to be 18.75 meters. So, small cars or six sedans can be loaded. In an 18 meter vehicle, it would be difficult to load anything beyond five. Even the European standards stipulate 18.75 meters.

Did we not hear Joint Secretary (Transport) Sanjay Bandhopadhyay hinting at the rollout of European standards at the

recent Automotive Logistics India 2014 conference? Nanda: Yes. Daman Dewan: To be honest, the CMVR does not specify these vehicles. Our legal advisors have gone through this Act thoroughly. There is no specification for these trucks. Haryana Transport Commissioner Ashok Khemka told us that there is a common platform for the trucks carrying cars as well as two wheelers and we have to follow specifications under that category.

Is this a Haryana specific problem or across every state in India? Dewan: Every state has its own law. For example, the Maharashtra government says that double-deck transport is for buses, not for car carriers. There is no uniform law across the country. It has to be specified on the Fitness Certificate as well as on the central government panel that trucks carrying cars, must follow the specification of 4.75 meter height. Nanda: The Haryana government has also issued on January 7, 2015 that any vehicle that is not registered in Haryana, if it pass-

SPECIAL REPORT

Nanda: Of the 12,000 car carriers, 25 per cent measure 18.75 meters while the rest 75 per cent are of 22 meters. Of course, there are many more white goods carriers. The problem is really for those people because their Motor Vehicle Act is already defined and there have to be no changes in that. It has to be 12 meters; for them, the challenge is of width. This means the trailer has to be basically scrapped. White good carriers have both width and length problems.

How have the OEMs responded?

es through this state, will be penalized.

So, what is happening now? Nanda: The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has invited us for consultations on the vehicle dimensions issue. We hope to put across our point of view once again.

Can you give a ballpark figure on the number of such vehicles?

Dewan: Two-wheeler companies, as of now, have not declared nor have they discussed what relaxation they are going to give since the drawing was being given by them only. They gave the design, and we fabricated these vehicles. Now, it is up to them to come back and say here is new design which is in line with the new policy. So, a lot of negotiations are probably in the offing. Nanda: I think now everybody will have to discipline themselves including OEMs. We do not want to ask for another extension in the next one year. If the government allows 22 meters, we will, of course, go for that. Whatever the rules, we follow them. No more dilly-dallying. This issue has to be closed once for all.

Who will benefit the most with the changed specifications like 18.75 meters for car carriers and 12 meters for two-wheeler carriers?

Dewan: We carry 78 motorbikes in douNanda: OEMs will be the most hurt beble-axle trucks and 65 motorcycles cause the freight goes up. It will, though, be in single-axle trucks. And good for chassis and body buildthree-tiered vehicles ers because they will have CMVR carry 91 two-wheelmore numbers of chassis specifies 18 meters ers. Most of them to sell as many will be for our trailers but in the industry are scrapped, replaced and the new CMVR Act the ones that carry altered. Everybody will will probably come 78 bikes – the mid benefit but the key is with 18.75 meters. range. The correct what the CMVR Act Today, most of our dimensions as specwill be. They may go trailers are 22 ified by the transport by European standards, meters commissioner are 2.6 but they cannot have open meters width, 4.75 metrucks in India as is specified ters height and 12 meters by European standards. length. But there is a contradicDewan: We will be glad if the width tion in this – 4.75 meters is basically for is three meters but comfortable with 2.85 double-decked transport vehicle. meters width. The carrying capacity with

Vipul Nanda 2.85 meters width will be 50 vehicles. Normally what we carry in is a double-axle truck which carries 78 bikes, we extend basically 7-8 feet more than the original chassis and with that we carry 12 more vehicles. Ideally, the existing dimensions are good from the road safety perspective. Our trucks are least accident prone. We accept our trucks (two-wheeler and white goods) are wider and longer but they move very slowly. Insurance companies also give us 70 per cent discount. Why such a hefty discount? Because insurance companies are earning well as the accident claims are very small. There is another angle to this whole issue. Now, companies are working in two shifts, but they have to work one more shift since the capacity of carrying bikes will be reduced, though dispatches will not come down. More vehicles have to be pressed into service, thus adding to congestion on roads and, therefore, more accidents. Don’t forget the acute driver shortage. Already we have a 15-20 per cent shortage of drivers. The new CMVR will add to this crisis as well.

How much is it going to cost for the modification/conversion? Nanda: Something could be covered by efficiency in terms of more mileage. Even today, drivers are happier to drive 18.75 meters. Once these rules are formalised there will be less or no RTO harassment on account of vehicle dimension. It is a huge cost to us. There are no limits, if I may say so. They charge anything they want.

Cargo & Logistics I January 2015

SPECIAL REPORT

SIZE PROBLEMS: Car-carrier trucks on a highway in Haryana

Recently, there were 50 vehicles that were held up in Haryana and they were challaned `15,000 each. In Uttar Pradesh, this penalty can go up to `42-45,000 per vehicle. They challan us because the vehicles are oversized. Once the new CMVR norms are in place, this (expenditure) may go away. Dewan: We figured out that `2.5 lakh per truck is required for two-wheeler carriers. For four-wheelers, it may be less because they have to reduce only the length. But for us, we have to reduce both width and length. So, the whole truck has to be dismantled and made again.

Are there so many fabrication units in the country? Dewan: No. Even now our vehicles are being manufactured by roadside fabricators. For us, the costing is a major factor. Let me add that the costing parameters differ between OEMs and our own. There is a big gap between what OEMs willing to share

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

on modification/conversion and what fabricators would be charging.

18.75 meters and I think it is a good initiative taken by them.

In the modified context, OEMs will have to deal with extra cost. Who created this vehicle dimension monster in the first place? OEMs? Instead of contracting more vehicles, it appears, they have resorted to short circuiting by making carriers to exceed the legal provisions. Isn’t it?

Transport is a State subject and will states follow the Central norms? There is always a Centre-State confrontation on several issues …

Nanda: You have answered the question yourself.

Of late, one is noticing a bit of reformation in the right direction among OEMs… Nanda: Somebody like Maruti Suzuki has already been paying a different freight for 18.75 meters truck so the freight is almost equal to the 22 meters trailer because they cannot afford to take a chance with their volumes. If tomorrow everything stops, where will Maruti go? Even today the trailers running specifically for Maruti are

Nanda: Central Motor Vehicle Regulatory Act by its very meaning is valid for the whole country. If the directions go properly from the center, then the states will have to follow. Road safety is government’s prime concern and none can dispute that. From a transporter perspective, nothing less than 15 per cent of the operational cost is spent on illegal gratification. The revised CMVR will definitely help us (transporters) leave a good and legal business for our next generation. Dewan: Over a period of time, these issues will get sorted out. (Refer to “Body Builders’ Achilles Heel” published in the November 2014 issue of Cargo & Logistics)

The Globe at sea

The Globe, world’s largest container ship, which can carry 19,100 standard TEU containers, made its maiden call at the Port of Felixstowe in Britain.

he world’s cargo ships are getting bigger and bigger. According to Lloyd’s Register, the day is not far off when the world will see 24,000 TEUers plying the seas. Companies such as Maersk Line, CSCL, Evergreen Line and CMA CGM have already invested in 17,000-TEU to 19,000-TEU vessels and the 24,000 TEUs are only a matter of time as the commercial pressure to put more cargo on ships rise. Till this becomes reality, CSCL’s Globe will be the world’s largest container ship. Built by Hyundai Heavy Industries’(HHI) shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea, the Globe was handed over to CSCL in the middle of

November 2014 in the presence of Xu Li Rong, Chairman of China Shipping Group; Zhao Hong Zhou, Managing Director of CSCL; Qiu Guo Hong, Chinese Ambassador to Korea; Choi Kil-seon, Chairman and CEO of HHI. The ship is now operated by CSCL on its AEX1 (Asia Europe Express) service and has docked at the Port of Felixstowe, the Port of Britain. The Globe is the first of five 19,000 TEU containerships ordered by CSCL in May, 2013. Measuring 400.0 metres in length, 58.6 metres in width and 30.5 metres in depth, the Globe is as large as four soccer fields. Despite being the same length and 0.4 metres (1.3 ft) thinner, the CSCL

PHOTOS: CSCL

PRODUCT

Globe can carry 730 more TEUs than the Maersk Triple E class container ships that have a capacity of 18,270 TEU. This is possible due to the CSCL Globe’s extra expected service draft of 16 metres (52.5 ft) compared to the Maersk Triple E’s 14.5 metres (47.5 ft). In terms of sheer physical size, its engine is the biggest ever made: 17.2 metres (56.5ft) high, 5.2 metres (17ft) wide and 22.5 metres (74ft) long. The vessel’s main engine is a MAN B&W 12S90ME-C with total output power of 69,720 kW at 69 rpm. This is sufficient for the ship to reach a service speed of 20.5 knots, while the maximum during speed trials exceeded 22.0 knots. The Globe is manned by only 20-30 people on board. Their jobs focus on operating the ship, making sure that containers are secure, and maintaining the huge engine. After the Port of Felixstowe, the CSCL Globe will call at Rotterdam, Hamburg, Zeebrugge, Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Yantian and Port Kelang.

Cargo & Logistics I January 2015

COLUMN

God alone knows! Cargo hijacking on Indian roads is a common phenomenon and very few stakeholders seem to be bothered. It is time, Ramesh Kumar points out, for the authorities to act and not leave it to the consignor or the consignee Ramesh Kumar

Indian highways are not safe. Cargo-laden vehicles are hijacked regularly across the country but rarely ever attract public attention. Those who want to know should subscribe to local transport-focused dailies mostly published from huge transport hubs. 26

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

indy, it was. Chilly, too! Unusual rains over the past two days had added to the misery of hundreds of truck drivers hanging out in the open and shivering in the freezing January temperature. How many gallons of garam chai being consumed from plastic cups, nobody knows. Vigorous palm rubbing is in full swing to generate heat and warmth to ward off the cold wave sweeping Uttar Pradesh. As I walk into the transport office just outside the materials gate of Pata plant of Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) in Auraiya, Uttar Pradesh in the middle of January 2015, two prominent posters attract my attention. One a rectangular, eye-catching publicity material for a health camp conducted with the GAIL management a few weeks ago for truck drivers. The second one, smaller in size, is a photo copy of an article from the Kanpur edition of Hindustan daily in Hindi. “Yeh afsar wale, bade bade baat karte hai. Lekin, karte kuch nahi (GAIL officials talk big, but do nothing),” laments an elderly truck driver, buttonholing me at the crowded room where representatives of transport companies are busy preparing ‘kagaz’ (paper work to enable quicker entry of trucks that bring in raw materials into the plant). Sensing my amazement, he drags me to the Hindustan poster put up at several locations in the crowded hall and commands that I read. Sipping a hot cup of tea thrust into my hands by a concerned driver, I tried to speedread the Hindi news, though it is not my mother tongue. While I read, someone provides a ‘running commentary’ on the story. I know what the ‘story’ is about. The title says everything: Eleven trucks carrying GAIL plastic seeds have vanished with no trace. Interestingly, there is hardly any mention of the GAIL management’s version. Actually, this does not

bother me because that is how Indian managements behave. “I-Don’t-Care” attitude is their hallmark. GAIL is, after all, a “gem of a company owned by the Government of India” — it has the Navaratna status. The bodies of two drivers had been found somewhere in the country, the report mentions. The usual spiel of “Police investigation is on. We will come back with details when we get” is part of the story. I could not resist laughing. This was not the first time such “lost forever” trucks phenomenon was happening at the GAIL Pata plant. There may have been more such hijacking of GAIL material in the past and again some deaths or ‘untraceability of drivers after the hijacking’. The local media must have had a field day for a day or two. GAIL officials at the plant would have maintained “No comments” or parroted “We are concerned. Human lives are valuable and police investigation is on. We care for our drivers”, dialogue for a few days and hoped that the story died quickly. The vehicles possibly would be found in some far out place — of course, without the material. Hijackers are not stupid. The fate of the driver? Don’t be stupid. No one is bothered. On the contrary, there may be speculation that the driver was part of the gang that looted the vehicle! The fleet owner would have filed his insurance claim and waiting for the settlement. The material lost is insured by the consignee – GAIL, in this case. It would have recovered. Or, likely to. Indian highways are not safe. Cargo-laden vehicles are hijacked regularly across the country but rarely ever attract public attention. Those who want to know should subscribe to local transport-focused dailies mostly published from huge transport hubs. Cases, most likely, remain unsolved because there is no time to chase these incidents, as one senior Delhi Police official shared with me when I pestered him to know the fate of a vehicle loaded with high priced zinc

COLUMN

(worth approximately `1.2 crore) from Silvassa to Ghaziabad that vanished from Delhi where it was spotted via GPS around Diwali 2013. GPS or no GPS, cargo thefts are here to stay. It is generally believed that the state police force is fully aware of the hijackers — organised crime groups with political patronage or otherwise — and hence helpless. Uttar Pradesh’s Etawah — where the GAIL plant is situated — is the hotbed of hijacking. Cargo safety is a serious issue. Though consignees and fleet owners recover their losses through insurance claims, cargo theft is a blot on the transport ecosystem. Why? Highway patrolling is talked about, but not implemented with the seriousness it deserves. Secondly, there are literally no – repeat no – safe parking hubs on highways supposed to be built as part of wayside amenities by the government on its own or in association with auto OEMs and other stakeholders. Dhabas that serve as parking lots for cargo carriers have no foolproof security apparatus to provide security of vehicle and cargo when drivers want to sleep at night. In fact, long haul drivers confess that most thefts — cargo or fuel — happen at the dhabas where they halt for dinner and the night where it is alleged dhaba owners illicitly work hand in glove with local gangs to loot drivers putting them to deep sleep with a dosage of sleep inducing stuff in their food. VRL Logistics National Head (Operations) Vishwanath Karmadi, overseeing a 4,000-strong fleet, says that an extra provision of an iron net over and above the tarpaulin cover is resorted to for cargo safety. “That’s the best, one can think of,” he says. Talking about tarpaulin, one cannot escape mentioning the phenomenon called “Tarpaulin Mani”, a notorious gangster who used to operate in the Mysore-Coimbatore hilly route with 36 hairpin bends. He used to chase the slow moving cargo trucks on this stretch with his gang, jump onto them, cut open tarpaulins and decamp with valuable consignments to be disposed off at whatever price. He had no concern over production cost! Every single rupee was a profit for him. In fact, a Tamil film, Nedunchalai (Highways), captured this culture with a heavy dosage of romance. Dr Deepak Baid, Director of Siddhi Vinayak Logistics, owning a 7,000 strong fleet and a big player in moving high value zinc and copper for Hindustan Zinc on highways, has decided to act on his own. Says he: “As a business entity, my company has to ensure cargo safety at any cost. Otherwise, what is the point of being in this busi-

ness? How can I throw up my arms in despair and declare from rooftops that cargo safety is not my concern, but that of the states that we pass through?” Therefore, SVLL has gone in for its own armed escort vehicles along with its convoy of zinc/copper carrying vehicles on Indian highways. Of course, it involves extra cost which, it is believed, the consignee shares. This is indeed a welcome move. Another area of concern is the behaviour of consignees. If the grapevine is to be believed, a reputed tyre manufacturer does not insure its cargo when it is moved. The burden, it is alleged, is shifted to transporters/fleet owners who in turn, take the risk just to be in business with the tyre giant! Significantly, tyres are one of the most hijacked items on highways. Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA), an international group, does have an Indian chapter but its focus is believed to be safety at warehouses, plants, etc. It is still unclear whether it has hammered out something on safety of moving cargo on Indian highways. “If at all any consignment that leaves the manufacturing site to the market and reaches safely, it is not because of a robust cargo safety system is in place. It is in spite of it. We leave it to God!” laments a leading transporter in Indore. He’s not off the mark. (The author is Member, Committee on Supply Chain & Logistics, National Centre for Cold-Chain Development - A Govt of India Organisation Under Ministry of Agriculture. He is also author of 10,000 KM on Indian Highways, Naked Banana! and An Affair with Indian Highways

It is generally believed that the state police force is fully aware of the hijackers — organised crime groups with political patronage or otherwise — and hence helpless. Uttar Pradesh’s Etawah — where the GAIL plant is situated — is the hotbed of hijacking. Cargo safety is a serious issue. Cargo & Logistics I January 2015

PROFILE

Singh is King! Janta Roadways has pioneered a few trends which have become norms in the industry today. Behind all this is Rajinder Singh Bhasin, the Managing Director of the company, who belongs to a family of transporters

ecember, 2010. Wintry Chennai forenoon. Compared to the freezing Delhi weather, this was nothing to worry about. The immaculately dressed, possibly the only conventional Sardarji in the entire Le Meridien on that day, walks up, shakes hands and says: “Wonderful. That was from the heart.” He was referring to

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

my presentation at the Automotive Logistics India 2010 Conference where I stunned the audience, first by appearing in a half-knicker and gamcha; second, on my maiden Chennai-Gurgaon road trip in a car carrier (22 meters long with 10 Hyundai i10s in its belly). The Sardarji in question was none other than Rajinder Singh Bhasin, Managing Director of Chennai-based Janta Roadways — a transporter par excellence who knows his onions, having learnt the ropes from the grassroots’ levels. Under the sixtyish soft-spoken and handsome Singh Saab, Janta Roadways has pioneered a few trends which have become norms in the industry today. Sample a few: one of the first to use radial tyres in 1995 when the technology had just been introduced in India; use covered containers that were introduced in 1998 to transport passenger cars; Bhasin’s Janta Roadways truck was the frontrunner flagged off by the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr Muthuvel Karunanidhi; installation of truck tracking mobile software in 1998-99; introduction of GPS in trucks in 2001; special body modification with installation of glass panel on the truck side to help launch a new model of a car even as the cars were being transported across the country; introduced the concept of preventive maintenance in 2002; first ISO certified company for ‘Service for Road Transportation of Vehicles and Goods’; and opened a driver training institute in 2004 – the first of its kind in India to follow modified Eu-

ropean training module. Not to be forgotten is the historic Supreme Court pronouncement on the overloading of trucks issue in 2005. The case was filed by none other than Singh Saab’s family. For hitherto undisclosed reasons, the petition was filed under his wife’s name. Every time, there is any disclosing about overloading in India, no one can ignore the Bhasin verdict. Whether the issue is addressed through letter and spirit implementation or not by various state governments is altogether a different issue.

Jagraon Roots The 1949-born sexagenarian hails from a 300-year-old place called Jagraon in Ludhiana district of Punjab, which is the third largest grain collector market in Asia. Centrally located in the map of Punjab and only 16 kilometers away from River Sutlej, Jagraon derives its name from two sources – Jagar Aaon meaning A Place of Great Flooding, and Graon with its roots in Sanskrit Grama meaning village. Belonging to a family of transporters, Bhasin is the third son of Jeevan Singh and Ram Kaur, who hailed from Kemanpur district near Rawalpindi in pre-partition Pakistan. “I used to play in transport godowns as a child. They used to use Michelin tyres and even as a boy of 7-8 years, I used to wonder how different these tyres look from the nylon tyres which were in use generally. Even during school holidays, I would go to the office and sit at the wheel and do my homework. So, transport was not new to me,” reminisces Singh.

Birth of Janta Roadways After completing matriculation in 1965, Bhasin joined his second brother, Ajaib Singh in Bengaluru, Karnataka who had set up spare parts business but within two years

PROFILE

they shut shop and opened Janta Goods Carrier in Kalasipalayam. One wonders at the extreme simplicity of the name. Bhasin explains, “Janta word has an easy pronunciation, so my brother chose that name. And we began by becoming agents because at that time we did not own any vehicle. We were just booking. Later, my brother opened an office in Delhi and I became the in-charge there. By 1974, we had eight trucks with us. Trucks were not expensive at that time and we could easily pay an EMI of `2000 in three years.” Most of these trucks were Leyland’s 9-tonners but the first one that they bought in 1971 was a 6-month-old Tata EPJ 2237 for `40,000. Bhasin remembers the first load, “It was a parcel load of TCI Company. And in 1974, I moved to Chennai. We had very good margins, very few expenses. Diesel cost us only 60 paise. Our main spending was on permits. A driver’s salary was `200250 a month and people used to address drivers as ‘driver sahab’.” Janata Goods Carriers mostly carried cargo between Bengaluru-Delhi and Bengaluru-Punjab. Bhasin shares, “There was some project coming up in Pong Dam near Hoshiarpur, Punjab for which dam gates and heavy machineries had to go from Hospet to Pong Dam. And I thought why shouldn’t we do things differently?” The opportunity came in 1971, “We came up with the concept of half-body vehicle. We had to transport HMT’s 11-tonne machine which was eight feet long. The freight at that time was hardly `4,000 from Bengaluru to Delhi. You could get a truck body made in just `4,000. Pakhar Singh was a renowned body builder at Delhi’s Gulabi Bagh. So, I dismantled one side of the truck and took up the HMT load. My brother and others could not believe it but I was convinced and was paid full body cost of `9,000. Around that time, Escorts was into major expansion so I carried many machines for them also. During the 1971 war, some aero engines had to be moved from 26 ED Bengaluru to all over India but especially to the Northern and Eastern zones. I was given a special army pass to enter 26 ED daily with 5-10 vehicles for loading. We used to get return loads too. We drove ammunition and our vehicles were always given priority. But when there were family differences in

1974, I decided to shift to Chennai to stop competing with the family.”

Tough future

and entered the market of car carriers. But his high came when he opened the truck fullbody to load 12-tonne HMT machines for which he oversaw the delivery from its conception stage.

Chennai offered no smooth sailing for Bhasin. “There was only one broker from Bharat Roadways who with the help of police Wading through tough times would harass drivers from outside. We faced Imagine hitting a low on all fronts – whethhuge challenges but opened Janta Roadways er personal or business, simultaneously. Corporation.” By 1977, Janta Roadways Despite that, Bhasin never once regrets his had altogether 200 trucks running while his decision to be in transportation business, “I own were only about five. His entire famihave no regret in my life. Transport is my ly, friends and relatives attached their own passion.” trucks with Bhasin’s Janta Roadways, hence The next year proved to be a test of the daunting number of 200. Though, Janta his strength. Says Bhasin, “At that time we Roadways mainly carried tyres and machinwere busy with TAFE, and we had a major ery, they soon got into transporting cars. issue with one of their Ludhiana dealers Bhasin remembers, “In 1978, Hindustan and lost about `14,00,000. I was in LudhiMotors wanted to dispatch dumpers but there ana to discuss the matter with them. Back were no trailers at that time. We suggested to home at the same time, my three-year-old them if the 25-tonner dumper could be disson was taken ill and could not make it. mantled into parts and then delivered. Since During the same period, one of my trucks they had to move more than 100 shipments carrying a load of match boxes went up in in a short time they agreed and in the next flames, two more trucks met with accitwo years we gave them fantastic dents and we incurred major success.” damages and losses.” He continues, “In Still, Bhasin mainMaruti Udyog’s 1978, only upto 6.5 tained his positivity. He birth in 1984 tonnes load was perremembers those days brought many changmitted in Madras and says, “Honesty, es in the industry. city (now Chennai). hard work and strong Janta Roadways tied Whatever amount of will can take you to with Maruti dealers in bribe you may have any height. And if Chennai and entered paid, more than the someone like me who the market of car permitted load was not is from a village, is only carriers allowed. If any vehicle educated till tenth standard with overload was found, the with no financial background, RTO office would seize it. The owner who did not even have a bank acwould have to bring another lorry, off-load count can set up a good reputed compaexcess weight, pay the fine and only then ny with about 200-strong fleet, more than get the vehicle released.” Around the same `50 crore turnover business and is open to time tractors were introduced into the market share his knowledge with top engineers, and were being transported via railways or develops designs, gives solutions, I would were driven down. In 1982, Bhasin invested say all this is impossible if I had not en`2,00,000 into Janta Roadways and made joyed every bit of it.” If not a transportit a private limited company. Bhasin says, er, Bhasin would have been a pharmacist “We started carrying tractors. We could cartoday. But then he responded to his true ry only two initially. Then we opened up the calling and became a respected transporter body of the truck and could carry four and — all the way from Jagraon to Chennai. more tractors. We used flat bed carriers and by 1984 we took up HMT contracts also to —Ramesh Kumar with inputs from be taken South besides Terex dumpers from Sarada Vishnubhatla the South to all across India.” (The profile is part of C&L’s spotlight on personalities from the cargo and logistics sector Maruti Udyog’s birth in 1984 brought many changes in the industry. Janta Roadwho have contibuted immesnsely to the Indian ways tied with Maruti dealers in Chennai economy.)

Cargo & Logistics I January 2015

NEWS IN BRIEF

Award for Om Logistics

m Logistics Ltd. received “Special Citation of Distinction” Award and the certificate for recognition of Extraordinary Contribution from Tata Motors, for the second time in a row, at the Tata Motors Annual Suppliers Conference in Mumbai recently. “Winning the Award proves that Om Logistics Ltd. can build on the continuous trust of clients, suppliers as well as industry experts,” said Ajay Singhal, CMD, Om Logistics Ltd.(see photo). “It provides recognition of our dedication to Logistics and focus on permanent improvement. Besides, it adds another positive impulse to the growth of our company in terms of service offering as well as geographical expansion.” The Tata Motors awards recognize suppliers that ‘continuously deliver excellence in logistics operations and

UTi India

superior service to their customers’. Om Logistics Ltd. is a Supply Chain Service provider supported by a state-of-the-art logistics platform. The company reduces the complexity of logistics while enhancing flexibility, transparency and control. It has a proven track record in developing and executing optimised end-to-end solutions, essential to improving and maintaining customer satisfaction and experience.

APPOINTMENTS

Emirates SkyCargo

mirates SkyCargo has appointed Henrik Ambak as Senior Vice President, Cargo Operations Worldwide. Ambak, a Danish national, joins Emirates SkyCargo after having spent the past 27 years in various roles in the air cargo industry, having worked for compa-

nies such as Novia, CSLux and Cargolux Airlines. In his new role, Ambak will be responsible for the management of all Emirates SkyCargo’s operations at its hub in Dubai, comprising the Cargo Mega Terminal at Dubai International Airport and Emirates SkyCentral at Dubai World Central, as well as the operations at the more than 140 outstations across the world.

Saudia Cargo Awards Function in Mumbai

audi Airlines Cargo organsied an event to honour its top agents on December 17, 2014 at Mumbai.

AN HONOUR: (Left) The top agent’s award for 2013-14 being presented to Merchant Air Freight Services by Keku Bomi Gazder, Regional Director, Cargo-Indian Sub-continent, Saudi Airlines Cargo and Vandana Singh, Regional Commercial Director, ECS (GSSA)

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

AWARDS

At the recently-held CONNEXION 2014 awards night, Safmarine bestowed UTi India with the award for the “Widest Coverage - Global”. The award was presented by Bimal Kanal, Director - India and Sri Lanka Cluster, Safmarine, to Sunil Vaswani, Director - Ocean Freight (Indian Subcontinent), UTi Worldwide (India) Pvt. Ltd. Both Safmarine and UTi go back a long way and plan to strengthen their relationship even further going forward.

CEVA CEVA Logistics has been named Logistics Company of the Year in Italy for the fifth time by Assologistica, the leading Italian association of logistics companies. This year’s award was given in recognition of CEVA’s TechCity - a logistics hub dedicated to the warehousing, handling and cross-docking of products for the electronics sector - which was opened in June 2014. TechCity covers an area of 90,000 sq m and is strategically-located in Pognano, in the province of Bergamo. The Assologistica awards, considered the most prestigious logistics accolades in Italy, are organised annually, and are now in their tenth year.

Ashok Kunverji Shah Ashok Kunverji Shah, Chairman, V-Trans (I) Ltd, a major transport & logistics services group was felicitated for his immense contribution to the transport industry, society and knowledge sharing at various platforms. The function titled ‘Jewels of Gujarat’ held on the eve of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2015 saw the felicitation of global Gujarati personalities for their yeoman service to building Indian industry.

NEWS IN BRIEF

AIR 

TIACA calls for security programmes

AISATS RECEIVES GDP CERTIFICATION The Bengaluru Airfreight Terminal facility of Air India SATS Airport Services (AISATS) received its Good Distribution Practices (GDP) certification recently. AISATS has become the first service provider in India with such a certification. Willy Ko, CEO, AISATS said, “AISATS has always been aligned towards establishing itself as a world-class service provider. We firmly believe in setting the benchmark for Distribution Practices and this GDP certification is a sure-footed step in the right direction. AISATS plans to continue to enhance its facilities and will look to invest in more multi- temperature control facilities to cater to the increasing demand of temperature-controlled cargo.” Maintaining product safety and quality is most important in the pharmaceutical industry and GDP is a quality system that ensures that the quality of a pharmaceutical product is maintained throughout the distribution process.

CARGO OPERATION AT MANGALURU SOON “The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will begin full-fledged domestic air cargo op-

erations at Mangalore International Airport from April through a private agency,” Director of the airport J T Radhakrishna said. At present, the domestic cargo being handled at the airport terminal building at Kenjar by the AAI consist parcels and postal articles only which is carried by passenger flights as belly-load cargo. Domestic cargo would be handled at a building close to the terminal building at Kenjar. This building, which was called Dakkan Park, with 3.05 acres of

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

Doug Brittin

he International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) members have been advised that recently released updates to Security Programs for all-cargo air-

craft in the USA must be implemented by February, 16, 2015. The updated Security Programs, issued by the United States Transport Security Administration (TSA) on December, 29, 2014, affect all US and non US-based freighter aircraft operators within, into, and out of the US. “The timing of the announcement over the holiday season, and the short implementation period are not ideal,” said Doug Brittin, Secretary General, TIACA. “While the updates incorporate some ideas which the industry has worked on with the TSA, they do not address the risk-based approach, which we have discussed and fully supported.” The programs incorporate structural changes and previous Emergency Amendments and Security Directives, but also require some changes in compliance procedures.

Cathay Pacific signs agreement with DoKaSch C athay Pacific Cargo recently signed a master agreement with DoKaSch Temperature Solutions for renting the latest-technology active containers, the RKN and RAP Opticooler. The move is to better facilitate the shipment of temperature-sensitive goods and pharmaceutical products. The service will be rolled out across the airline’s network in the first quarter of 2015. Mark Sutch, General Manager Car-

go, Sales and Marketing, Cathay Pacific said, “Cathay Pacific Cargo is pleased to be the first Asian carrier offering our customers an alternative solution for their temperature-sensitive air cargo shipments. In a growing market, and in Asia in particular, we can provide the entire range of active containers, enabling us to offer our customers the best possible air-cargo solution to meet their needs.”

NEWS IN BRIEF

IFL Group to acquire CRJ200 freighter aircraft

AIR  private land, was handed over to the AAI by the government sometime ago.

AIR CARGO TERMINAL TO FUNCTION SOON Visakhapatnam International Airport’s integrated air cargo terminal is likely to begin its operations soon with tenders for award of the contract for ‘domestic cargo’

ombardier Commercial Aircraft has got the launch customer for its CRJ200 SF (Special Freighter) aircraft. An entity owned by the IFL Group of Waterford, Michigan has signed a firm purchase agreement to acquire the aircraft. The aircraft will join IFL Group’s fleet flying air freight throughout North, Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean. “We look forward to adding the Bombardier CRJ200 SF aircraft to our fleet,” said Michael Church, President, IFL

Group. “The CRJ200 aircraft has a proud history of dependability and reliability in the fast-paced world of regional airline operations and we are confident that its legacy will continue in our busy air freight environment where on-time performance is essential.” The aircraft will be converted to all-cargo configuration by Aeronautical Engineers, Inc, a Bombardier-licensed Third Party Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) Provider for passenger-to-freighter conversions for and CRJ100 and CRJ200 aircraft.

IAG Cargo gets GDP for medicines

SmartKargo for Hawaiian Airlines

AG Cargo has become the world’s first cargo carrier to be awarded a GDP (Good Distribution Practice) certification for pharmaceutical transportation. Following an inspection by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, the carrier was granted Wholesale Distribution Authorisation (WDA) for medicines. Alan Dorling, Global Head of Pharmaceuticals & Life Sciences, IAG Cargo, commented: “The authorisation is testament to the significant investments we have made in our dedicated people and our temperature-controlled infrastructure facilities and capabilities, in addition to continuous product development and training to improve our customer experience. It is welcome third party recognition that IAG Cargo has become the diamond standard for the transportation of medicines worldwide and underscores our global leadership in this fast-growing market.”

martKargo recently announced that Hawaiian Airlines, Hawaii’s largest and longest serving carrier, would be its first customer in the western hemisphere. Hawaiian operates a fleet of 19 Airbus A330-200 and 10 Boeing 767-300 aircraft for long-range services throughout the Pacific and 18 Boeing 717 and 3 ATR-42 for flights within the state of Hawaii. The carrier offers non-stop service to Hawai‘i from more U.S. gateway cities (11) than any other airline, along with service from Japan, South Korea, China, Australia, New Zealand, American Samoa and Tahiti. SmartKargo will power Hawaiian Airlines cargo beginning mid-2015.

at the finalisation stage. With investment of nearly `60 lakh by Airports Authority of India (AAI), the old terminal building at the airport was modified, after a prolonged delay, for carrying out exclusive cargo operations for both domestic and international cargo. Cargo operations could not be started due to technical problems that had cropped up between the AAI and the AP Trade Promotion Corporation (APTPC), which is the custodian of international cargo in the State. The modalities for handling international cargo are yet to be worked out.

DNATA INVESTS AED545 MILLION IN 2014 dnata invested more than AED545 million to deepen its service offering in cargo, ground handling, travel, and catering. The investments, made across the globe, included the acquisitions of Gold Medal Travel and Stella Travel Services, enhanced cargo infrastructure in the UK, new halal kitchens, and continued investments in the company’s operations in Dubai. “We faced several challenges this year and though our teams were tested, we have kept our focus to deliver to our customers,” said Gary Chapman, President, dnata. “There will always be short term challenges for which we have to be agile in our response, but at all times we never lose sight of the things that really matter in our business – our customers and our people.”

Cargo & Logistics I January 2015

NEWS IN BRIEF

Lakshadweep Wharf inaugurated

SHIPPING AND PORTS  JN PORT CONTAINER THROUGHPUT REACHES NEW HIGH

A Container traffic at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), the country’s premier box handling facility, shot up nearly 8 per cent to a record 4.45 million TEUs in calendar year 2014. The volume handled in 2013 was 4.12 million TEUs. The percentage was driven by increased productivity and throughput in all its three terminals. APM Terminals Mumbai (GTI) handled 1.985 million TEUs in 2014, up from 1.899 million TEUs the previous year, while the Port Trust-run Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal (JNPCT) continued to impress by handling 1.31 million TEUs against 1.27 million TEUs in the previous year. DP World Nhava Sheva (NSICT) handled 1.15 million TEUs in 2014, as against 0.947 million TEUs in 2013. On the other hand, the volume of liquid cargo handled dipped slightly to 6.1 million tonnes in 2014, from 6.4 million tonnes the previous year, sources said. Termination of contract: Jawaharlal Nehru (JN) Port is planning to scrap the contract of DBC Port Logistics Ltd for running a container freight station (CFS) at the port. The DBC contract is liable to be terminated because of non-payment of stipulated amounts to JN Port for three consecutive times in a year and also for unsatisfactory service or failure. JN Port says that DBC owes it `20.41 crore.

WEST QUAY-6 BERTH AT VIZAG TO BECOME OPERATIONAL With the arrival of largest level-luffing cranes from China, the West Quay-6 berth, developed under build-oper-

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

INFRA BOOST: Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari addressing after dedicating the M V Corals and Lakshadweep Wharf to the nation, at Willingdon Island, Kochi, in Kerala

ACCENTURE’S PORTS CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE LAUNCHED Accenture recently launched a Ports Centre of Excellence in Hong Kong which is focused on providing terminal operators with process excellence and technology implementation for performance management, operations management and enterprise management. Industry specialists at the Accenture Ports Centre of Excellence are implementing Accenture Port Solutions (APS), a portfolio of industry-specific technology solutions combined with business consulting and outsourcing services, to help clients create the business analytics capability, operations flexibility and resilience required to cope with the short and volatile economic cycles in the ports industry. “Our Ports Centre of Excellence supports our clients who are operating in a highly dynamic economic environment which requires improved operational efficiency and the ability to collaborate with a range of organizations across the global supply chain to meet the changing needs of customers,” said Eric Schaeffer, Global Managing Director, Accenture’s Automotive, Industrial Equipment, Infrastructure and Transportation practice.

he Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari, inaugurated a newly-built, 300-metre Lakshadweep Wharf constructed by Cochin Port Trust (CoPT) at a cost of `37.52 crore from funds provided by the Lakshadweep Administration. The Wharf has been constructed for berthing of the Lakshadweep Administration ships and vessels as facilities for passengers and cargo at Kochi were insufficient. “The government was keen on developing inland water transportation in the country to enhance passenger and cargo movement, “said Gadkari speaking at the occasion. He also pointed out that Kerala and Lakshadweep have great potential for inland navigation. A new all-weather ship acquired by the Lakshadweep Administration for $ 29 million called MV Corals was also dedicated to the nation by the Minister. He also inaugurated a Passenger Facilitation Centre.

Kolkata port depth needs to be increased

study by Assocham and Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) said, there was an urgent need to increase the draught at Kolkata Port to 14 meters from the present 7 meters as it was inadequate for dealing with bigger ships. The study said there was also a need to get around red-tape and increase the pace of dredging, which has been inadequate. The study observed that another area where the port needed to give priority was the existing poor and ageing infrastructure, including the rail link. It also noted that the allied logistics for the proposed Diamond Harbour Container Terminal should be streamlined soon. Suggesting the need to review the existing tariff policy at the government-run

NEWS IN BRIEF

Adani Enterprises signs MoU with Woodside Petroleum

nergy and industrial conglomerate Adani Enterprises recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Woodside Petroleum, Australian petroleum exploration and production company. The move points to a potentially significant new market opening up for Woodside’s LNG. Woodside and Adani will work together to identify and develop “potential business arrangements and commercial initiatives”, Woodside said. The MoU was signed in Gujarat by Peter Coleman, Chief Executive, Wood-

port, the study said, “There is a need to review the existing tariff policy with special reference to phasing of cross subsidies and suggest ways for adoption of a more realistic tariff policy for the port sector.”

side and Gautam Adani, Chairman, Adani at a ceremony attended by Australian Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb. It will set the scene for cooperation between the two companies on technology transfer, potential LNG sales and investment opportunities. India imports about 13 million tonnes of LNG a year, mostly from Qatar, but imports are seen climbing to about 15 million tonnes this year and are forecast by consultancy Wood Mackenzie to reach more than 35 million tonnes a year in 2025, driven by increasing electrification of homes and urbanisation. India is seeking to meet its rising energy needs with a variety of energy sources, including gas, nuclear and coal.

DRY BULK SHIPPING SET TO FACE NEW CHALLENGES The Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), world’s largest international shipping association, has predicted that dry bulk demand will slow down to a rate of 4-5 per cent in 2015, and iron ore demand will be the centre of attention once again, according to a release. In recent years, the Capesize segment has heavily dominated demand growth. In 2014, an increase in demand for iron ore from China accounted for 70 per cent of the total volume growth in the year. BIMCO expects this trend to continue, with Capesizes outperforming the smaller vessels relatively. The strong iron ore demand in 2014 was somewhat neutralised by a drop in coal demand from China. Supramax market took a beating in the Far East due to Indonesia’s ban on exports of unprocessed bauxite and nickel ore. Towards the end of the year, the late arrival of strong exports of iron ore out of Brazil proved to be insufficient to deliver on the promise of 2013 when rates for all segments went up.

SHIPPING AND PORTS  ate-transfer (BOT) basis at Visakhapatnam Port by WQ Multiport Private Ltd (WQMPL), would be operational by February 15. Vizag Port recently received two massive level-luffing cranes each having a lifting capacity of 160 tonnes, with discharge rate of 20,000 tonnes per day. The cranes were brought from Dalian from DHHI, the manufacturer at a cost `80 crore. The cranes, expected to be commissioned in three weeks, will have mechanised hoppers to minimise pollution with dust separation system. According to WQMPL, the company would handle 2.5 million tonnes in the first year of operation and achieve full capacity of 6 million tonnes by the fourth year.

AID TO WEST BENGAL FOR SAGAR ISLAND PORT West Bengal recently received an aid of `12,000 crore from the Central Government for the deep-sea port at Sagar Island and various infrastructure projects in the state. “Money is not an issue when it comes to development. For the Sagar Island port, we will give an assistance of `12,000 crore, while another `7,000 crore will be for road projects,” Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways said speaking at a seminar organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce.

CSL TO BUILD HIGH-SPEED SHIPS The public sector Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) is in talks with Australian company Incat for a technical tie-up to manufacture high-speed passenger vessels. The yard hopes to make lightweight vessels initially for Lakshadweep Administration to operate on the Kerala-Lakshadweep route, Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said after visiting the Cochin Shipyard. “We are trying to help them harness new technology to make LNG carrying vessels for the first time in India and are in talks with a Korean firm for the purpose,” Gadkari added.

Cargo & Logistics I January 2015

NEWS IN BRIEF

LAND  SAFEXPRESS OPENS LOGISTICS PARK IN FARIDABAD

Safexpress recently launched its stateof-the-art logistics park in Faridabad. Spanning over an area of 1,80,000 sq feet, the logistics park is located on NH 2. Safexpress provides services to a vast array of business verticals ranging from healthcare, apparel and lifestyle, Hi-Tech, publishing to automotive, engineering and electrical hardware, FMCG and consumer electronics and institutional. Pawan Jain, Chairman and Managing Director, Safexpress said, “Supply chain and logistics has a vital role to play in the growth of numerous industrial centres spread across the Haryana region. Safexpress has developed an ultra-modern facility at Faridabad, which will serve as a transhipment hub as well as a warehousing facility. Safexpress, with its logistics park at Faridabad, will bridge the infrastructure gaps and serve the supply chain and logistics requirements of the entire region.”

AMAZON TO ADD MORE LOGISTICS MUSCLE Amazon India is planning to more than double its team in logistics and delivery space in the coming seven months. The delivery (and logistics team) will touch 14,000 by July, according to sources. Amazon currently has 6,000 people in the team and is planning to first increase its headcount to 9,000 by March. After the hiring, Amazon will have the largest delivery and logistics team among e-commerce players in the country, beating Flipkart that has a 12,000-strong team handling about 85 per cent of goods sold on the portal. The plan underlines Amazon’s strategy of strengthening its ‘Easy Ship’

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

Web portal for online approval of Heavy Transport

nion Minister for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari recenlty launched a web portal for online approval of movement of Over Dimensional (OD) and Over Weight Cargo (OWC). Speaking on the occasion, Gadkari said the digitalisation in the sector would ensure smoother movement of heavy transport and make the system

corruption free. He added that 108 e-tolls had become operational in the country and the number would go up to 350 by March this year. The minister said that the Government was working on taking states on board for smoother transport. The Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal, who was also present on the occasion, said the initiative would help the power sector by facilitating easy movement of power equipment. He said besides making the system transparent it would provide a level playing field for those involved in transport industry.

Pipavav and NYK Auto Logistics to create RoRo facility

PM Terminals operated Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd (APM Terminals Pipavav) and NYK Auto Logistics (India) recently announced setting up of a dedicated automobile yard (RoRo) at Pipavav Port. Under the arrangement, NYK Auto Logistics (India) Pvt. Ltd. has been sub-leased land parcels by Gujarat Pipavav Port inside its premises for developing a dedicated common user integrated RoRo terminal with India’s first port-based PDI and Vehicle Processing Centre. Gujarat Pipavav Port will provide all the port and related facilities to the logistics operator for ensuring smooth and seamless flow of automobile cargo. The yard is expected to be commissioned in the second quarter of the current year.

Commenting on the new business opportunity, Prakash Tulsiani, Managing Director of APM Terminals Pipavav said, “We are committed to increasing our existing service portfolio from container, bulk, liquid and now automotive cargo. NYK is a proven leader in operating auto terminals worldwide and has an extensive fleet of RoRo ships offering regular sailings to and from the major ports around the globe. We are happy with this association.”

NEWS IN BRIEF

Rhenus Logistics to double capacity

henus Logistics India Private Ltd. is planning to more than double its warehousing capacity to 2.5 million sq.ft by 2016-17. Currently, the integrated logistics player has 1.1 million sq.ft of warehousing space of both multi-user facilities and customer-specific dedicated facilities in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai,

Pune and Ahmedabad. Besides, expansion programme was on at Bengaluru, Mumbai and Mohali. Second warehouse near Chennai: Rhenus recently announced the opening of its second warehouse near Chennai, spread across an area of 55,000 sq. ft. With the opening of this warehouse, Rhenus now has two multi-user facilities totalling 1 lakh sq. ft of warehousing space, near Chennai. The new warehouse will cater to the chemical sector and boost the industry in Tamil Nadu. It has capacity for 6,000 Pallet Positions (PP) with scalability option, efficient reach trucks for lifting, and forklifts for floor management. It is equipped to fulfill both Just in Time (JIT) and Milk-run concepts.

FedEx Cares campaign celebrated

edEx Express (FedEx) recently concluded the FedEx Cares campaign, its annual initiative to benefit local communities. Over 1,100 FedEx team members across 25 cities in India were involved in community outreach activities, clocking more than 3,200 hours of volunteer work. FedEx Cares is an annual global volunteering initiative where FedEx team members and their families donate their personal time and effort in giving back to their local communities. In its fourth consecutive year in India, FedEx team members participated in various activities focused on the environment and society. FedEx volunteers contributed in a number of projects across India like organising and participating in blood do-

nation drives, visiting children’s hospitals and donating books and stationary items.

FedEx Express strengthens business in Saudi Arabia: FedEx Express has selected Abdul Latif Jameel Group as a new global service provider in Saudi Arabia as of January 2015, for its international inbound and outbound services to and from 220 countries and territories. FedEx has been active in Saudi Arabia for more than 20 years and the selection of Abdul Latif Jameel Group will allow FedEx to utilise the Saudi conglomerate’s deep market expertise to meet growing shipping needs. The country’s demand for international cargo is expected to grow by five per cent and seven to eight per cent for air and sea cargo, respectively, through 2020.

LAND  service, whereby it undertakes delivery of goods stocked at sellers’ warehouses to consumers when an order is placed.

DHL’S NEW FACILITY IN CHANDIGARH DHL Express India (P) Ltd, opened its new modern service facility in Chandigarh. The new facility will serve as a pick-up, delivery, sorting center etc., with a shipment handling capacity of over 100,000 shipments a year and will cater to the logistics needs of customers-based at Chandigarh and its nearby places like Dera Bassi, Mohali, Panchkula, Zirakpur, Baddi, Parwanoo, etc. This is the company’s second service centre in the Northern region excluding Delhi and NCR. DHL recently expanded its services in Ludhiana which is a key industrial hub of Punjab and is one of the leading business centres in the whole northern region of India. The Ludhiana centre caters to customer requirements of Jalandhar, Phagwara, Amritsar, Mandi, Gobindgarh, Moga, etc. and having capacity to handle over 200,000 shipments a year.

UPS WORLDWIDE SERVICE

EXPANDS

FREIGHT

UPS Worldwide Express Freight has expanded its service in 12 new origin and nine new destination countries for urgent, time-sensitive and high-value international heavyweight shipments. UPS now offers the guaranteed service which is perfect for product launches, inventory shortages or equipment failure replacement parts to 50 origin and 51 destination countries and territories. Countries adding origin service include: Chile, Greece, Indonesia, Israel, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Slovakia, Turkey and Vietnam. Countries adding destination service include: Chile, Indonesia, Israel, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Vietnam.

Cargo & Logistics I January 2015

BOOK REVIEW

How to sail through Customs One of the obstacles that the impex trade faces is Customs. It was Naval Mehta’s book, Clearance through Indian Customs that provided ways to smoothen the clearance process and acquired a ‘must-have’ status. Now, a practicising forwarder SAMIR J SHAH has updated and re-edited Naval Mehta’s book and made it virtually ‘unputdownable’ for the export/import professional. Clearance through Indian Customs Re-edited: Samir J Shah (Third Edition) Naval H Mehta (First and Second Editions) Publishers: JBS Academy Pvt Ltd, Centre for Logistics, Maritime and Management Studies and Research Pages: 422 Price: `950

One aspect which is noticeable from the start is that the book is meant for the entrenched professional as well as the novice in this industry. The text is simple and readable with introductory historical references to the conceptual stages in the formation of the cargo industry as it stands today 38

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

he third edition of Naval Mehta’s book, Clearance through Indian Customs, has been re-edited by Samir J Shah of JBS. Samir J Shah is unique in that he is knowledgeable in both ocean and airfreight. He not only runs a fully fledged freight forwarding organisation and teaches and trains students in aspects of ocean and air cargo (including IATA regulations/rules), he also finds time to update portions of the book. This is quite a feat, even considering his reputation as a Trainers’ Trainer. One aspect which is noticeable from the start is that the book is meant for the entrenched professional as well as the novice in this industry. The text is simple and readable with introductory historical references to the conceptual stages in the formation of the cargo industry as it stands today. Notes on insurance and banking are also helpful when referring to provisions of the Customs Act. Additional details of INCOTERMS are valuable in putting things in proper perspective with regard to their impact on customs laws. Given that our Customs Act provisions are subject to frequent changes/updations owing to various reasons, the resultant efforts put in by Shah, who has more or less re-written the book, is highly creditable. He has given “Guru Ji” Naval Mehta full credit/respect for his role in writing this useful book originally. The glossary is pretty helpful too, to understand unfamiliar words and abbreviations. Perhaps, adding an index, pinpointing the pages where some specific keyword/ac-

Samir J Shah, editor of the book with Kaushal Srivastava, Chairman, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) during the launch of the book in New Delhi

ronym falls on for quick reference, instead of having to refer to the entire chapter/segment for this purpose, would have been helpful. Having dwelt on the positives, inevitably leads us to a few negatives which were totally avoidable. Spelling errors like “appallate” (for appellate), factual ones like “FERA” (repealed in 1998) mentioned but no FEMA (existing) and grammatical ones like excessive use of the article “the” are all easily avoidable with greater attention to proof reading. The price @ `950 is reasonable considering that it is meant for commercial use and will help to save money, increase efficiency and stave off penalties/liabilities. All in all a very useful book to have available for reference at any point of time.

STATS

TRAFFIC PORTS TRAFFICHANDLED HANDLEDAT AT MAJOR MAJOR PORTS (DURING APRIL TO DECEMBER, 2014* VIS-A-VIS APRIL TO DECEMBER, 2013)

(*) TENTATIVE

(IN ' 000 TONNES)

PORTS

APRIL TO DECEMBER

% VARIATION

TRAFFIC

AGAINST PREV.

2014* 2

1 KOLKATA Kolkata Dock System

2013 3

YEAR TRAFFIC 4

10488

9258

13.29

Haldia Dock Complex

21884

21506

TOTAL: KOLKATA

32372

30764

1.76 5.23

PARADIP

53522

50858

5.24

VISAKHAPATNAM

43796

43067

1.69

KAMARAJAR (ENNORE)

22627

19801

14.27

CHENNAI

39781

38097

4.42

V.O. CHIDAMBARANAR

23309

21224

9.82

COCHIN

15993

15617

2.41

NEW MANGALORE

27102

29344

-7.64

MORMUGAO

10269

8565

19.89

MUMBAI

46165

43644

5.78

JNPT

48073

45991

4.53

KANDLA

70856

66084

7.22

433865

413056

5.04

TOTAL:

Source:INDIAN PORTS ASSOCIATION

Cargo and Logistics

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STATS

INDIAN PORTS ASSOCIATION

TRAFFIC HANDLED AT MAJOR PORTS TRAFFIC HANDLED AT MAJOR PORTS

DURING APRIL DECEMBER’2014* APRIL TO DECEMBER’2013 (DURING APRIL TO TO DECEMBER'2014* VIS-A-VISVIS-A-VIS APRIL TO DECEMBER'2013) (*)

TENTATIVE

PORT

(IN '000 TONNES) TRAFFIC PERIOD

P.O.L.

IRON ORE

FERTILIZER FIN. RAW

COAL CONTAINER THERMAL COKING TONNAGE TEUs

OTHER CARGO

TOTAL

% VAR. AGAINST 2013-14

KOLKATA TRF APRIL-DEC.'2014

466

6096

395

3714

10488

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2013

467

114

222

5322

344

3100

9258

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2014

3942

1739

215

364

850

4212

1357

9205

21884

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2013

4315

1670

156

274

1233

4163

1667

8028

21506

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2014

4408

1799

289

426

850

4228

7453

477 12919

32372

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2013

4782

1784

160

303

1233

4385

6989

431 11128

30764

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2014

13178

1445

3305

22450

5775

7276

53522

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2013

13570

4038

122

2975

18529

5381

6179

50858

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2014

10845

6856

1300

597

1749

4186

3312

187 14951

43796

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2013

10151

9197

1555

625

2258

5139

3734

199 10408

43067

KAMARAJAR(ENNORE) TRF APRIL-DEC.'2014

2336

18050

258

1983

22627

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2013

1569

16084

311

1837

19801

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2014

9574

173

255

22789

1181

6990

39781

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2013

9669

160

214

21500

1114

6527

38097

V.O.CHIDAMBARANAR TRF APRIL-DEC.'2014

442

384

786

6148

8015

408

7534

23309

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2013

375

355

541

5067

7330

369

7556

21224

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2014

10268

274

4025

280

1274

15993

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2013

10756

146

3609

264

1070

15617

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2014

16834

1334

462

1952

4141

685

1657

27102

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2013

18334

2269

405

2110

4198

543

1435

29344

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2014

418

368

148

988

4784

195

3368

10269

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2013

402

153

5608

155

2247

8565

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2014

27030

141

182

3549

408

35 14855

46165

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2013

26670

118

3108

321

30 13356

43644

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2014

3068

42957

3346

2048

48073

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2013

3405

40532

3035

2054

45991

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2014

41960

726

2998

569

7779

132

- 16692

70856

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2013

39206

504

2210

637

5433

199

452

29 17443

66084

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2014 140361 12528

6000

6431

63613

23504

89881

5984 91547 433865

TRF APRIL-DEC.'2013 138889 17819

5274

5562

53822

25221

85229

5529 81240 413056

13.77

15.62

18.19

-6.81

5.46

Kolkata Dock System

Haldia Dock Complex TOTAL: KOLKATA

PARADIP

VISAKHAPATNAM

CHENNAI

COCHIN

NEW MANGALORE

MORMUGAO

MUMBAI

J.N.P.T.

KANDLA

ALL PORTS

% Variation from previous year

1.06 -29.69

8.22

12.69

13.29

1.76

5.23

5.24

1.69

14.27

4.42

9.82

2.41

-7.64

19.89

5.78

4.53

7.22

5.04

Source:INDIAN PORTS ASSOCIATION

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

STATS

INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT AIRPORT

SL. NO.

ANNEXURE-IVA

FREIGHT (IN TONNES) For the period April - November % % 2014-15 2013-14 Change Change

For the month NOVEMBER NOVEMBER 2014 2013

(A) 18 INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS 1

CHENNAI

17739

17904

-0.9

151127

149860

KOLKATA

4309

3862

11.6

32494

30405

6.9

AHMEDABAD

1701

1342

26.8

12124

10910

11.1 -31.8

0.8

GOA

105

116

-9.5

801

1174

TRIVANDRUM

2407

2043

17.8

18599

17986

3.4

CALICUT

1758

1636

7.5

14534

15446

-5.9

LUCKNOW

106

17.8

910

733

24.1

GUWAHATI

0.0

20.0

SRINAGAR

JAIPUR

484.6

417

143

191.6

BHUBANESWAR

503.1

MANGALORE

81.0

193

COIMBATORE

1.1

617

641

-3.7

AMRITSAR

260.9

348

1281

-72.8

332

339

-2.1

3051

3092

-1.3

TRICHY

VARANASI

PORTBLAIR

IMPHAL

0 28743

0 27477

0 231713

4.6

0 235227

1.5

TOTAL (B) 6 JV INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS 19

DELHI (DIAL)

35719

32079

11.3

288414

259017

11.3

MUMBAI (MIAL)

40660

38077

6.8

320738

309831

3.5

BANGALORE (BIAL)

13745

11676

17.7

111649

100041

11.6

HYDERABAD (GHIAL)

4642

4105

13.1

36421

32455

12.2

COCHIN(CIAL)

3689

3014

22.4

43425

27762

56.4

NAGPUR (MIPL)

52.5

253

254

-0.4

98516

88991

10.7

800900

729360

9.8

TOTAL (C) 7 CUSTOM AIRPORTS 25

PUNE

-100.0

VISAKHAPATNAM

PATNA

CHANDIGARH BAGDOGRA

MADURAI

2 0

0 0

3 1

0 0

GAYA

29 30

TOTAL

(D) 17 DOMESTIC AIRPORTS

(E) OTHER AIRPORTS GRAND TOTAL (A+B+C+D+E)

127261

116468

9.3

1036217

961083

7.8

Source: AIRPORTS AUTHORITY OF INDIA

Cargo & Logistics I January 2015

STATS

DOMESTIC FREIGHT DOMESTIC FREIGHT SL. NO.

AIRPORT

For the month NOVEMBER NOVEMBER 2014 2013

(A) 18 INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS 1 CHENNAI 2 KOLKATA 3 AHMEDABAD 4 GOA 5 TRIVANDRUM 6 CALICUT 7 LUCKNOW 8 GUWAHATI 9 SRINAGAR 10 JAIPUR 11 BHUBANESWAR 12 MANGALORE 13 COIMBATORE 14 AMRITSAR 15 TRICHY 16 VARANASI 17 PORTBLAIR 18 IMPHAL TOTAL (B) 6 JV INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS 19 DELHI (DIAL) 20 MUMBAI (MIAL) 21 BANGALORE (BIAL) 22 HYDERABAD (GHIAL) 23 COCHIN(CIAL) 24 NAGPUR (MIPL) TOTAL (C) 7 CUSTOM AIRPORTS 25 PUNE 26 VISAKHAPATNAM 27 PATNA 28 CHANDIGARH 29 BAGDOGRA 30 MADURAI 31 GAYA TOTAL (D) 15 DOMESTIC AIRPORTS 32 INDORE 33 JAMMU 34 RAIPUR 35 AGARTALA 36 VADODARA 37 RANCHI 38 AURANGABAD 39 UDAIPUR 40 BHOPAL 41 LEH 42 DEHRADUN 43 RAJKOT 44 JODHPUR 45 TIRUPATHI 46 DIBRUGARH (D) 17 DOMESTIC AIRPORTS (E) OTHER AIRPORTS GRAND TOTAL (A+B+C+D+E)

ANNEXURE-IVB

FREIGHT (IN TONNES) For the period April - November % % 2014-15 2013-14 Change Change

6940 7486 3454 268 76 24 365 766 440 211 487 24 592 36 0 33 397 369 21968

5991 6858 2684 272 119 12 255 614 268 655 320 16 520 4 0 33 239 335 19195

15.8 9.2 28.7 -1.5 -36.1 100.0 43.1 24.8 64.2 -67.8 52.2 50.0 13.8 800.0 0.0 66.1 10.1 14.4

53885 61673 28173 2060 821 252 2261 6325 4457 1064 3393 242 5016 277 0 429 1916 3013 175257

47823 56089 23637 1608 1322 116 1955 4560 2637 4736 2527 204 4160 76 0 295 1640 2739 156124

12.7 10.0 19.2 28.1 -37.9 117.2 15.7 38.7 69.0 -77.5 34.3 18.6 20.6 264.5 45.4 16.8 10.0 12.3

24083 17858 9671 3698 949 370 56629

18472 14410 7184 3064 791 370 44291

30.4 23.9 34.6 20.7 20.0 0.0 27.9

178008 141543 76215 28701 7539 3827 435833

138240 121226 60636 24241 6226 3386 353955

28.8 16.8 25.7 18.4 21.1 13.0 23.1

2678 133 452 0 280 88 0 3631

1836 109 335 253 254 100 0 2887

45.9 22.0 34.9 -100.0 10.2 -12.0 25.8

18343 2501 3452 3224 1955 786 0 30261

524 147 371 423 214 207 146 5 46 136 4 11 2 0 25 2261 158 84647

243 133 215 547 197 207 116 0 61 107 0 13 1 0 16 1856 160 68389

115.6 10.5 72.6 -22.7 8.6 0.0 25.9 -24.6 27.1 -15.4 100.0 56.3 21.8 -1.3 23.8

4332 1165 2679 4208 1286 2184 868 14 622 862 23 84 8 0 189 18524 938 660813

13565 1144 2983 2309 1299 811 022111 2881 1123 2101 4625 1325 1590 531 0 569 728 0 118 14 0 193 15798 1045 549033

35.2 118.6 15.7 39.6 50.5 -3.1 36.9 50.4 3.7 27.5 -9.0 -2.9 37.4 63.5 9.3 18.4 -28.8 -42.9 -2.1 17.3 -10.2 20.4

Source: AIRPORTS AUTHORITY OF INDIA

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

One of India’s leading Logistics and Transport Companies, VRL Logistics Ltd focuses on delivering high quality and cost effective service, with world-class reliability to its customers. Trusted by millions of Indians, VRL is committed towards customer satisfaction. VRL has been listed in the Limca Book of Records as the largest private sector owner of commercial vehicles. VRL is fully committed to accelerate your business to greater heights.

Now for our major expansion plans we need:

SENIOR EXECUTIVES Air Cargo Division  On Board Courier Service (OBC)  Priority Service  General Parcel 

LOCATION

AHMEDABAD, BENGALURU, CHENNAI, DELHI, HYDERABAD, KOLKATA, MUMBAI, PUNE.

Regd. Ofﬁce: 351/1, Varur Post Chowki, Taluk Hubli - 581 207 Corp Ofﬁce: Giriraj Annexe, Circuit House Road, Hubballi, 580 029 Karnataka Contact: 0836 - 2237511/514 web: www.vrlgroup.in email: vbs@vrllogistics.com CIN: U60210KA1983PLC005247

• 27 STATES • 4 UNION TERRITORIES • 628 CITIES • 981 BRANCHES & FRANCHISEES • 3868 VEHICLES (“This announcement is not being made in and may not be distributed or sent into United States, Canada, Australia or Japan. This announcement does not constitute, and may not be construed as, an offer or a solicitation for an offer to subscribe to or purchase any securities in India, United States or any other jurisdiction.”)

STATS

INTERNATIONAL &(INT'L+DOM.) DOMESTIC FREIGHT FREIGHT SL. NO.

AIRPORT

For the month NOVEMBER NOVEMBER 2014 2013

(A) 18 INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS 1 CHENNAI 2 KOLKATA 3 AHMEDABAD 4 GOA 5 TRIVANDRUM 6 CALICUT 7 LUCKNOW 8 GUWAHATI 9 SRINAGAR* 10 JAIPUR 11 BHUBANESWAR 12 MANGALORE 13 COIMBATORE 14 AMRITSAR 15 TRICHY 16 VARANASI 17 PORTBLAIR 18 IMPHAL TOTAL (B) 6 JV INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS 19 DELHI (DIAL) 20 MUMBAI (MIAL) 21 BANGALORE (BIAL) 22 HYDERABAD (GHIAL) 23 COCHIN(CIAL) 24 NAGPUR (MIPL) TOTAL (C) 7 CUSTOM AIRPORTS 25 PUNE 26 VISAKHAPATNAM 27 PATNA 28 CHANDIGARH 29 BAGDOGRA 30 MADURAI 31 GAYA TOTAL (D) 15 DOMESTIC AIRPORTS 32 INDORE 33 JAMMU 34 RAIPUR 35 AGARTALA 36 VADODARA 37 RANCHI 38 AURANGABAD 39 UDAIPUR 40 BHOPAL 41 LEH 42 DEHRADUN 43 RAJKOT 44 JODHPUR 45 TIRUPATHI 46 DIBRUGARH (D) 17 DOMESTIC AIRPORTS (E) OTHER AIRPORTS GRAND TOTAL (A+B+C+D+E)

NOTE:

ANNEXURE-IVC

FREIGHT (IN TONNES) For the period April - November % % 2014-15 2013-14 Change Change

24679 11795 5155 373 2483 1782 471 767 440 287 487 62 680 119 332 33 397 369 50711

23895 10720 4026 388 2162 1648 345 615 268 668 320 37 607 27 339 33 239 335 46672

3.3 10.0 28.0 -3.9 14.8 8.1 36.5 24.7 64.2 -57.0 52.2 67.6 12.0 340.7 -2.1 0.0 66.1 10.1 8.7

205012 94167 40297 2861 19420 14786 3171 6337 4457 1481 3393 435 5633 625 3051 429 1916 3013 410484

197683 86494 34547 2782 19308 15562 2688 4570 2637 4879 2527 236 4801 1357 3092 295 1640 2739 387837

3.7 8.9 16.6 2.8 0.6 -5.0 18.0 38.7 69.0 -69.6 34.3 84.3 17.3 -53.9 -1.3 45.4 16.8 10.0 5.8

59802 58518 23416 8340 4638 431 155145

50551 52487 18860 7169 3805 410 133282

18.3 11.5 24.2 16.3 21.9 5.1 16.4

466422 462281 187864 65122 50964 4080 1236733

397257 431057 160677 56696 33988 3640 1083315

17.4 7.2 16.9 14.9 49.9 12.1 14.2

2678 133 452 0 282 88 0 3633

1836 109 335 253 254 100 0 2887

45.9 22.0 34.9 -100.0 11.0 -12.0 #DIV/0! 25.8

18343 2501 3452 3224 1958 787 0 30265

13575 1144 2983 2309 1299 811 0 22121

35.1 118.6 15.7 39.6 50.7 -3.0 #DIV/0! 36.8

524 147 371 423 214 207 146 5 46 136 4 11 2 0 25 2261 158 211908

243 133 215 547 197 207 116 0 61 107 0 13 1 0 16 1856 160 184857

115.6 10.5 72.6 -22.7 8.6 0.0 25.9 #DIV/0! -24.6 27.1 #DIV/0! -15.4 100.0 #DIV/0! 56.3 21.8 -1.3 14.6

4332 1165 2679 4208 1286 2270 868 14 622 862 23 84 8 0 189 18610 938 1697030

2881 1123 2101 4625 1325 1590 531 0 569 728 0 118 14 0 193 15798 1045 1510116

50.4 3.7 27.5 -9.0 -2.9 42.8 63.5 #DIV/0! 9.3 18.4 #DIV/0! -28.8 -42.9 #DIV/0! -2.1 17.8 -10.2 12.4

Biju Patnaik Airport, Bhubaneswar, Odisha and Imphal Airport, Manipur airports declared as International airports vide Notification No.AV.20014/003/98-VB(AAI) dated 14th November, 2013 by Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India.

Source: AIRPORTS AUTHORITY OF INDIA

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

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WOMEN IN CARGO

‘Air cargo is the hub and spoke for all major industries’ Karuna Sharma, Manager - Air Exports, Co-Load at UTi Worldwide has turned into an air cargo veteran. For someone who veered into air cargo by chance, she has discovered that the fast-paced, quick thinking on the feet part of the industry, suits her admirably. Cargo is essentially a male-dominated industry. How did you find yourself in it? There is a perception that the cargo industry is a male dominated industry but with opening up of the economy and supply chain subjects becoming mainstream in colleges and universities, I have observed that more and more women have started to find employment in this field. My entry in this industry was more by chance than a conscious decision.

How many years have you been with the cargo industry and how has the journey been this far? It’s been 19 years for me and the journey has been extremely rewarding. This particular industry is the hub and spoke for all other major industries.

How have your colleagues and those reporting to you reacted to you? UTi worldwide encourages an environment of team work. We are an equal opportunity organisation which is purely merit-driven and it encourages lady employees to take on senior roles in the management.

Do you specialise in any section of the industry: e.g. handling of dangerous goods, etc.? There are members in my air export team, who are DG qualified to handle such shipments. I specialise in client claims.

What is so exciting about the cargo industry that keeps you attracted to it? Unlike ocean, air export is a fast-paced, quick decisions industry which requires quick thinking on the feet and this is what I love most about this particular field.

How confident are you about future growth on equal opportunity basis with male colleagues? Luckily for me I am working in the organisation which espouses these very values, therefore I am very confident about my future.

What advice would you give youngsters — especially women — to join the industry? I would advise them to strengthen their technical knowledge, be willing to put in long hours during the initial phases of their career and I am sure nothing will hold them back.

January 2015 I Cargo & Logistics

RNI No. DELENG/2011/387546

GROUP

Committed to Deliver

SA Consultants & Forwarders Pvt. Ltd. SA Cargo Services Pvt. Ltd. SA Aviation Pvt. Ltd. SA Travcare Pvt. Ltd.

Head Office:

L2, Kanchanjunga Building, 18, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi - 110001

Branches :

Tel: +91-11-2331 0752 / 53 / 54 / 55 Fax: +91-11-2331 0797, 6630 4004

Bengaluru

Chennai

Kochi

Email : Website :

Mumbai

info@sagroupindia.com www.sagroupindia.com

Srinagar

RNI No. DELENG/2011/387546