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MUMBAI: Advanced technological innovations are  disrupting the traditional transport and logistics industry across the globe. As a result, the conventional players in the logistics and transport system are innovating new ways to survive and sustain their business.
As the logistics and transport market has entered into a technological transformation, the transport companies need to be prepared to adapt to the change by innovating new business models, claims a study by Navigant Research.
In the last few years, a wide range of companies has emerged to provide real-time freight booking and pricing services that have improved efficiency and lowered the cost as well. In the global market, the apps and services like Uber Freight, Convoy, Transfix etc have helped in lowering the labour and material cost as well. In India, Porter and TruckSuvidha too are offering similar services.
Using these service and apps, shippers can view the available trucks and third-party logistics providers nearby and can book directly with a click of a button instead of using the conventional and lengthy brokerage process. The freight capacity too can be easily located using these apps and services.
Known in various names like smart logistics platforms, digital freight solutions, on-demand trucking, or even the Uberization of freight, these companies have one thing in common. They are transforming the speed and way how freight and logistics are brokered.
These apps and services help the logistics and freight booking market move swiftly and efficiently, removing wasted time on the booking process and getting the right trucks for payload quicker. The study expects the adoption of digital logistics platforms to increase further.
With mobile applications, freight pricing, and matching algorithms becoming more sophisticated and convenient for users over time, these platforms will expand further. Also, implementation of autonomous driving technology in the commercial vehicle segment expedite the process as these logistics platforms can be easily integrated into the self-driving technology.
New technologies to disrupt last-mile logistics
New technologies like delivery bots, drones could upend the last mile logistics, claims the study. These innovations are a result of the rising labour cost, as many shippers and carriers including Amazon, are experimenting with such technologies.
A study reveals that a reduction of just one driver mile a day can save up to $5 million per year. These disruptive technologies could easily transform the conventional logistics market by delivering the products faster, efficiently and in a cheaper way.
These technologies are far smaller than trucks and could prove to be cost-efficient compared to manufacturing a traditional truck. Also, these technologies come with substantially lower carbon footprints as well, besides removing the problem of road congestion. Apart from that, they can be easily integrated with automation and electrification as well.
The study points out that these technologies could revolutionize the way high priority goods like medical supplies and foods are delivered.

CONCOR and Indian Railways join hands to commence Container Train operation from Suranussi, Jalandhar

FEROZEPUR: Container Corporation of India Ltd. – CONCOR – a Navratna PSU of Ministry of Railways and Indian Railways join hands to commence Container Train operation from Suranussi, located near Jalandhar in Ferozepur Division of Northern railway, said T. P. Singh, General Manager, Northern Railway during the press conference at Ferozepur.
A land license agreement was signed at Ferozepur Division on 12th August 2019 between Railways and CONCOR at a glittering ceremony graced by T. P. Singh, General Manager (Northern Railway), Rajesh Aggarwal, DRM, Ferozepur, Sanjay Swaroop, Director International Marketing and Ops, CONCOR, Kamal Jain, Executive Director CONCOR (Northern Region) and other Senior Officers from Railways.
This new facility shall give impetus to transportation of Domestic and Export-Import cargo in containers from the catchment areas of Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Amritsar.
Earlier, this Container Rail Terminal was opened on trial basis in March 2019 during which a total 540 TEUs (Twenty Equivalent Unit) Containers – in six container trains were handled moving 12,690 Metric Tonne of cargo to various parts of Country on Multi-Modal basis by CONCOR.
Sushil Kumar, Sr. Div. Engineer-II, Ferozepur Div. and Vineet Mathur, Chief Manager, CONCOR, Ludhiana signed the agreement on behalf of Railways and CONCOR respectively.

PSA International & SCG Logistics to launch Joint Venture firm

SINGAPORE: PSA Thailand and third party logistics provider SCG Logistics Management Company have come together to jointly invest in the development and operation of the Thai Prosperity Terminal in Thailand, and rebranding it Thai Connectivity Terminal (TCT).
PSA Thailand and SCG Logistics will set up a joint venture firm in Thailand called SCG-PSA Holdings Co, which will serve as a springboard for potential joint exploration and investment in supply chain related opportunities across the region, with a major focus on Thailand.
TCT, sited along Thailand’s Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, is a well-established river terminal that directly serves the hinterland in and around the capital city.
TCT is well connected to the Deepsea port at Laem Chabang, allowing it to cater to the varied needs of local and regional cargo owners.
“Capitalising on TCT’s strategic location, PSA is committed to growing this critical node as part of our greater transport and cargo solutions network, and to open up more avenues of opportunity for the movement of goods and materials throughout the region,” said Ong Kim Pong, Regional CEO Southeast Asia, PSA International.

Port of Rotterdam launches PortXchange to make Digital Shipping App Pronto available to Ports Worldwide

ROTTERDAM: The Port of Rotterdam Authority launched its new company PortXchange Products BV (“PortXchange”) on August 8th 2019. This entity is set up to offer the Pronto platform and application to ports around the world over the next few years. The establishment of a separate company will enable partnerships with a variety of global players. Together with strategic partners Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (“Shell”) and A.P. Moller – Maersk, PortXchange will initially offer Pronto to several ports outside the Netherlands. The launch of PortXchange provides a platform to create new strategic partnerships with ports, shipping companies and terminals, geared towards implementing smart digital solutions like Pronto in ports worldwide. This in turn contributes to the ambition of Port of Rotterdam to become the world’s smartest port.
PortXchange
Trust between parties for the free exchange of data is vital to the successful introduction of Pronto in other ports. The establishment of a separate company enables the solution’s neutrality and independence, and improves cooperation between all parties.
PortXchange aims to improve the efficiency of port calls and help clients reduce their emissions – both in the port as well as between ports. To this end, the company provides Pronto: a joint platform that can be used by shipping companies, agents, terminals, port authorities and other (nautical) service providers, which enables them to optimally plan, execute and monitor all activities during a port call based on the exchange of standardised data. In addition, Pronto enables just-in-time sailing, which helps reduce carbon emissions.
A smart port is a connected port
Taking the lead in digital transformation enables the Port of Rotterdam to become more efficient, reliable and, as result, more competitive.
Partnerships
The first PortXchange partnerships have already been signed – with Shell and A.P. Moller – Maersk. “Pronto will be offered in several ports in Europe and the US before the end of the year. The ambition for the years ahead is to make Pronto available to ports worldwide. Partnerships with major international players like Shell and Maersk play a crucial part in making Pronto a global success,” said Allard Castelein, CEO, Port of Rotterdam Authority .

Shanghai Tops ranking of World’s Best-Connected Ports : UNCTAD August 13 , 2019

GENEVA: The Shanghai Port has topped UNCTAD’s 2019 ranking of the world’s best-connected ports, released on 7 August.
The Chinese port garnered a connectivity score of 134 points, followed by the ports of Singapore (124.63 points), Pusan (114.45 points) in Korea and Ningbo (114.35 points), also in China. The index is set at 100 for the best-connected port in 2006, which was Hong Kong, China.
Besides the Asian ports, the other ports on the top 10 list are those of Antwerp (94 points) in Belgium and Rotterdam (93 points) in the Netherlands. None of the ports in the top 20 list are from Africa, Latin America, North America or Australasia.
“A container port’s performance is a critical factor that can determine transport costs and, by extension, trade competitiveness,” said UNCTAD’s Director of Technology and Logistics, Shamika N. Sirimanne.
Efficient and well-connected container ports enabled by frequent and direct shipping services are key to minimizing trade costs and fostering sustainable development, Ms. Sirimanne said.
UNCTAD’s port Liner Shipping Connectivity Index (port LSCI) dataset enables businesses and governments to determine maritime transport trends and their ports’ positions compared to others.
More than 900 Ports covered The port LSCI, which now provides data on more than 900 ports dating back to 2006, is generated using the same methodology as that for the recently released country-level LSCI produced by UNCTAD in collaboration with MDSTransmodal.
The 2019 port LSCI shows that the expanded Panama Canal has led to shifts in patterns of services.
The data also indicates that the LSCI of New York/New Jersey and Savannah on the East Coast of North America grew by more than 20% since 2016, while the leading ports on the West Coast saw their LSCI stagnate.
The data further reveals that investments by shipping lines can attract additional services. Piraeus (Greece), operated by COSCO from China, for example, has become the best-connected port in the Mediterranean in 2019. In Africa, both geography and port reforms emerged as critical factors. The best-connected countries in Africa are those at its corners – Morocco, Egypt and South Africa.
Western Africa has relatively low connectivity because it doesn’t lie at the crossroads of major north-south or east-west shipping routes.
Mombasa (Kenya) and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) connect Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda to overseas markets through dedicated corridors, but they remain highly congested.
Low connectivity makes merchandize trade costly and uncompetitive. Many small island developing states (SIDS) face a vicious cycle where low trade volumes discourage investments in better maritime transport connectivity.
The Pacific Islands are among those with the lowest shipping connectivity. For example, Port Vila (Vanuatu) receives about one container ship every three days, the data shows.
In Kiribati, there is only one operator offering regular liner shipping services, with one ship arriving about every 10 days. Port calls and port turnaround times
Besides the new datasets measuring liner shipping connectivity, UNCTAD also released new data on port calls and turnaround time in the global container ports, in collaboration with MarineTraffic.
The data shows that containerships have the lowest turnaround times.
In 2018, a ship spent a median time of 23.5 hours in ports.
Dry bulk carriers typically spent just over two days during a port call, while container ships spent the least amount of time – less than a day.
“A shorter time in port is a positive indicator that could partly signal the level of port efficiency and trade competitiveness,” said UNCTAD’s Chief of Transport, Frida Youssef.
The economies with the fastest turnaround times are the advanced ones with large volumes or small ones that handle low cargo volumes at each port call, Ms. Youssef said.
According to the data, the bottom 10 Countries are all developing Countries or least developed Countries.
However, a longer time spent in port does not necessarily mean that the port is less efficient, as owners of ships may choose to have them stay longer in a port to purchase goods or services.
According to Ms. Youssef, Countries with more port calls have lower turnaround times. “A port with a faster turnaround can accommodate a larger number of port calls with the same number of berths,” she said.
Such a port is also more attractive to shippers and carriers, Ms. Youssef said, so the number of port calls will be higher compared to a competing port that has a lower turnaround time.
These latest datasets complement other maritime statistics and indicators provided by UNCTAD to measure the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Draft National Logistics Policy should incentivize express industry: EICI

MUMBAI: Express Industry Council of India (EICI), which represents leading express companies in the Country, said the draft National Logistics Policy document does not focus on express industry and air cargo sectors, which are integral parts of the logistics network.
It said “The Government has overlooked express industry, especially air cargo segment, in the draft National Logistics Policy.”
EICI Chief Operating Officer, Vijay Kumar said “We laud the efforts in preparing the draft policy covering a broad spectrum of focus areas to drive the growth of Indian logistics sector. However, we note that the policy document does not focus on express industry and air cargo sectors, which are integral parts of the logistics network.”
The air express has also been overlooked in the Multi Modal Mix even though air is an essential segment of the movement of goods, he added. It also said that air cargo delivery needs special focus to reduce logistics costs in the Country.
He further added that, “In developing countries like India, an efficient air express infrastructure contribute directly to global competitiveness of the Country by ensuring just in time deliveries and reduced clearance dwell time.
Further, efficient express delivery industry acts as an economic catalyst by opening up new market opportunities, moving products and services with speed and efficiency”.
The Government had issued the draft National Logistics Policy early this year, aiming to reduce the logistics costs from 13-14% of GDP to 10% “in line with best-in-class global standards.”
EICI represents both domestic and International express companies operating in India including Aramex, FedEx, Blue Dart, DHL, DTDC, First Flight, GATI, TNT and UPS. It also suggested measures to streamline e-way Bill system.
 

GSP roll-back: Exports of goods under tariff system to US up 32% August 13 , 2019

NEW DELHI: Exports of Indian goods, which were enjoying benefits under the preferential tariff system GSP, to the US registered a growth of 32 percent in June, according to Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI).
The US rolled back export benefits to over 1,900 Indian goods from June 5. These incentives were provided by America under its Generalised System of Preference (GSP) programme.
Citing the data from the United States International Trade Commission (USITC), it said the Indian exports to the US of those goods which were getting GSP benefits stood at $657.42 million in June as compared to $495.67 million in the same period last year.
"India's exports to the US on GSP withdrawn products has registered 32 percent growth in June 2019 as compared to the same month last year," TPCI Chairman Mohit Singla said in a statement.
This is a very interesting trend as out of $190 million value of GSP benefit claimed earlier, the growth has already covered $161.74 million, month on month for June 2019 compared to last year, leaving a thin margin of US $28.26 million only, he said.
The major products which have shown increase in exports include plastics rubber, base metals (aluminium), machines and equipments, transport equipment, hides and leather, Pearls and precious stones.
This is a clear indication that Indian products have the full potential to compete globally and not solely dependent on support, contrary to the perception, Singla said.
TPCI is a strong advocate of the phasing of subsidies and reducing Government support. He said the need is to incentivise new sunrise sectors like furniture and electrical, by creating a cluster-based mega ecosystem, which can churn export growth completely.
The era of continuing fixation of labour incentitive sectors should be over, as their growths have already flattened, despite sustained support, he said. India exported goods worth $6.3 billion to the US in 2018 under their export incentive programme.