Deepak Tiwari, COO, KSH Logistics, while sharing his expectations from the upcoming budget 2023-2024, which will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, said, “In 2023, we need the government to address some crucial issues like rising rental prices, fuel prices, and infrastructure cost which has significantly increased the operational cost for any logistics company. There should be an incentive-based system where people building warehouses are rewarded, and the tenant gets the place at a much cheaper rate/sq. ft. The government should also consider investing heavily in automation and incentivizing warehouses that integrate these technologies. On the banking front, interest rates are very high. The interest rate on Capex investment must be decreased. Logistics is a manpower-intensive industry, and while the Skill Council is trying to upgrade the skillsets of human resources, we also need training institutes to train them in the latest technologies and promote R&D and innovation. We also need to bring diversity in the workforce and create equal opportunities for women and 3rd gender individuals. Lastly, with all the infrastructure development that the government is doing in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, if that gets expedited, then we get a better landscape to work. Today the metros are saturated. It’s time to focus and build the rest of India.”

Air Canada is preparing to expand its Vancouver, British Columbia, cargo terminal in preparation for receiving two 777 factory-built freighters from Boeing that will operate on trans-Pacific routes, said Jason Berry, vice president of cargo in a statement. The upgrade is part of a large program to improve cargo hubs across its network. Air Canada currently occupies a stand-alone facility that processes shipments moving on passenger aircraft at Vancouver International Airport. A tenant in an adjacent hangar is moving out and Air Canada will begin work in January on connecting and refurbishing the two buildings. “We’re in the early stages of just determining flow and process and how do you want it to look. It’s a big commitment for us,” Berry said.

Qantas Freight is expecting record volumes of freight in December as domestic demand surge due to increases in online shopping. The freighter operator said that it expects to carry around 26,000 tonnes of freight to domestic, regional and international cities, which would be an increase on last December’s record volumes and up around 50% on average monthly uplift. Meanwhile, domestic volumes are expected to be up around 75% on pre-Covid levels as online shopping deliveries ramp up. Qantas Freight operates 19 dedicated freighters domestically, including up to 16 for Australia Post, and four international freighters. Qantas executive manager for freight, Catriona Larritt, said: “Along with our partner Australia Post we’ve been planning for this bumper season since last Christmas. “We’ve seen huge increases in online shopping since the start of the pandemic and remains strong. “In the last few weeks of December, many people super-charge their online shopping sprees to take advantage of door-to-door express deliveries for themselves as well as gifts for family and friends.” To meet the demand, the company is rostering on more staff, using bigger aircraft and putting on special charter services. “In the busiest days leading up to Christmas we’ll carry around 1,200 tonnes of cargo, around double our daily average amount across our freight fleet and in the belly of passenger flights,” she added. “Our domestic services alone will be moving up to 650 tonnes on the busiest nights.” Australia Post general manager premium services and international Mark Davies added: “This year has been bigger than ever for us, in fact to help support the increase in parcel and mail volume we have increased our dedicated freighter capacity by up to 50% in the …

Cargolux and DB Schenker have added a direct API interface to their respective IT systems that will allow the forwarder to book capacity on the freighter operator’s aircraft. The carrier said that the connection would provide a direct interface between both companies’ systems to “generate tailored and immediate, bookable quotes”. Cargolux’s Austria, Spain and Portugal offices were selected to participate in the project. The interface offers dynamic pricing options based on specific requirements such as weight, routing, and product type. Cargolux executive vice president sales & marketing Domenico Ceci said: “The implementation of API offers customers more choice and flexibility when booking their cargo with us. “Launching this venture in collaboration with a key customer such as DB Schenker highlights both companies’ wish to pursue digitalisation and continue looking for innovative solutions in the industry.” Stefan Spriestersbach, head of production systems, DB Schenker global airfreight, added: “The new connectivity will further transform our joint process into the latest technology and is clearly a remarkable milestone of the professional collaboration. “This innovation brings benefit to all stakes of our transportation chain through digital proposition and exchange – Cargolux as preferred partner, our global customer base and the entire global Air Freight network of DB Schenker.”

Geodis officially put a newly built multi-user logistics facility into operation in Aurach, in the district of Ansbach. The new facility has direct transport links to the Nuremberg metropolitan region. It has 26,757 Euro pallet spaces in the high-bay warehouse and 9,000 m² of block storage space and is equipped with a photovoltaic system. With the new logistics center, GEODIS optimizes its market access to one of the economically strongest regions in Bavaria and continues its Europe-wide expansion as a global transport and logistics service provider. With 28 loading ramps and 4 ground-level gates, the new logistics center offers GEODIS’ e-commerce customer a wide range of services for the distribution of, for example, large electrical appliances, consumer electronics and furniture. Antje Lochmann, Managing Director of GEODIS Contract Logistics activities in Germany, is delighted with the successful start of operations at the logistics center. The first two halls were already equipped and began test operations in October. The 3rd and 4th halls were commissioned at the beginning of November. “In terms of transport links, our new logistics center in Aurach is directly connected to the A6 federal motorway, which is part of the important Paris-Prague long-distance connection. The project development and the construction of the new plant took place in close cooperation with more than ten companies. Added to this was the expertise of GEODIS colleagues from locations in France, Italy and Germany, who provided excellent support to the team in Aurach by adding their knowledge and experience during the planning and technical setup of our new WMS system,” said Antje Lochmann.

Over the next decade, we will invest in new infrastructure and facilities to meet demand. With the fast-paced growth in business and rising demands, we intend to remain at the forefront of providing world-class facilities, infrastructure and technology to our customers, partners and stakeholders,” said Satyaki Raghunath, Chief Strategy & Development Officer, Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL). “We are looking at the development of a new domestic cargo terminal, refurbishing the existing cargo terminals with enhanced capacity and the expansion of cold-chain facility. With the government getting involved and focusing on logistics efficiency and infrastructural development through initiatives like Gati Shakti and NLP, we are expecting to have an extremely favourable environment to grow our cargo business. We believe that we can cater to around 1.5 million MT of cargo annually in the next decade and we are preparing for that,” he added. Airfreight volumes through BLR Airport have grown considerably over the last 10 years with a CAGR of 11 per cent (pre-COVID). According to internal estimates, the Airport’s unconstrained cargo potential is estimated to be 1.7 – 1.9 million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) by 2038. This estimate was arrived at considering the natural catchment areas of Bangalore and the proximity of trucking distance that is approximately 7-12 hours from major export and import hubs in the region.  The design capacity of the airport’s cargo operations by the end of the financial year FY 21/22 was enhanced from 570,000 MTPA to 715,000 MTPA, he further informed.

Geodis has signed an agreement to acquire trans-o-flex, a leading company in the premium express sector in Germany specialized in temperature controlled transport for pharmaceutical products as well as in time definite delivery of products for cosmetics, automotive and high-tech industries. Since 2016 the company is owned by the families Schoeller and Amberger who have invested to scale it up to a leading specialized distribution player. Marie-Christine Lombard, Chief Executive Officer of GEODIS, said: “The acquisition of trans-o-flex is a key step forward enabling us to increase our footprint in Germany. It is consistent with our ambition to strengthen our global end-to-end logistics solutions to support our customers’ growth and geographic development. This acquisition will position GEODIS as a leading player in the healthcare market and will significantly enhance our delivery capabilities in Germany, a country at the heart of global trade. We have been impressed by the expertise and the commitment to the highest quality of service of trans-o-flex’s management team. We welcome the trans-o-flex team to GEODIS and together we believe we can further support our customers on both sides by combining our respective and complementary strengths in Germany, in Europe and globally. In order to achieve this, we have agreed with Christoph Schoeller, who is currently trans-o-flex’s Chairman of the Advisory Board, Vice-Chairman of the supervisory board and shareholder with Peter Amberger, that he will remain as Vice-Chairman of the new supervisory board presided by myself.”

Delhivery will acquire the Pune-based Algorhythm Tech that delivers intelligent planning & optimization solutions for enterprise supply chain operations. The company said the transaction is expected to be completed by 31st Jan 2023. This would be a 100 per cent acquisition post which Algorhythm Tech will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Delhivery Limited. Founded in 2003 by Abhaya Borwankar, Ajit Singh, and Sandeep Pendurkar, Algorhythm offers end-to-end supply chain planning & execution products to clients across FMCG, pharma, steel, auto and telecom sectors, through its proprietary Rhythm 3.0 platform. Commenting on the announcement, Sandeep Kumar Barasia, Executive Director and Chief Business Officer, said, “We congratulate Abhaya, Ajit, and Sandeep on building a truly differentiated product offering with a great depth, and breadth of coverage across industry sectors and use cases. Given that technology has and continues to be our core business differentiator, Algorhythm Tech’s SCM software products will enhance our Supply Chain Solutions offering with value added services and also drive cost optimization in service delivery. These SCM products are increasingly becoming vital for supply chain planning and optimization. And our clients will have the option of availing the benefits of these as part of our Integrated Solutions platform.” Ajit Singh, Co-founder, Algorhythm Tech, added, “Delhivery has made great strides to emerge as the largest logistics provider in India in a decade and we can think of no better team or company to work with to accelerate our joint vision for the future.”

Safexpress has launched its ultra-modern Logistics Park in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. This state-of-the-art facility is strategically located near Mappedu in Thiruvallur district. The logistics facility in is spread over a land area of 6.5 Lakh square feet, enabled with ultra-modern transhipment and 3PL facilities, which will boost storage & warehousing needs of the businesses in this region while providing for faster connectivity. The new Logistics Park is cross-dock, equipped with loading and unloading of over 200 vehicles simultaneously. It has a column-less span of over 80 feet, which facilitates uninterrupted movement of goods within the facility. To enable all-weather loading and unloading of goods, the facility is equipped with 16 feet wide Cantilever Shed. The Logistics facility has the required firefighting equipment and trained manpower to deal with such exigencies. It is equipped with an integrated rainwater harvesting system, has a dedicated green zone and will be using sunlight during the daytime to conserve energy. Operations at the Logistics facility is highly streamlined, which ensures the country’s fastest transit-time from Tamil Nadu to all destinations across India. Safexpress Logistics Park at Mappedu intends to help greatly in minimizing the infrastructural gaps and serve their supply chain & logistics requirements needs effectively and efficiently.

CMA CGM Air Cargo will place its capacity on booking portal CargoAi as it looks to expand its reach with SME forwarders. CMA CGM is the 71st airline to place its capacity on the CargoAi portal and that the addition meant that forwarders can search from 195 origins to 447 destinations. The portal is also the first online marketplace to offer CMA CGM capacity for instant booking “in line with CMA CGM’s first own scheduled freighter service from Paris to Hong Kong SAR and vice versa”. Matt Petot, founder and chief executive of CargoAi, said: “We have been growing very fast thanks to our different approach and special focus on making it simple for our airlines to integrate and for our forwarders users to make bookings. “Our unique combination of tech and air cargo talents has helped to showcase that CargoAi can deliver modern tech solutions at a very fast pace to this industry. “We have still a lot of work to do and 2023 looks already very exciting as CargoAi will focus on delivering new solutions outside of our e-booking platform (CargoMART) and work on customized projects for our partners.” Magali Beauregard, chief commercial officer of CargoAi, added: “We’re thrilled that CargoMART becomes the first marketplace to sell CMA CGM’s freighter service. This is a great addition to our existing airline portfolio that users on www.CargoAi.co get benefit from.” CMA CGM Air Cargo is owned by shipping giant CMA CGM and launched operations in 2021.