Freight transportation reports, projects and other news from outside North America
7/5/2022
World Bank loan to help Indian Railways haul more freight, reduce GHG emissions
The World Bank recently approved a $245 million loan to support India’s efforts to modernize rail freight and logistics infrastructure. The Rail Logistics project is designed to help India shift more traffic from road to rail and reduce “millions of tons” of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) annually, World Bank officials said in a June 10 statement. The project will also “incentivize more private sector investment in the railway sector,” they added.
Indian Railways is the world’s fourth-largest rail network, with about 70 percent of India’s freight is transported by road, and only 17 percent by rail, according to the World Bank. Capacity constraints have limited the volumes and reduced the speed and reliability of rail shipments. As a result: Indian Railways has been losing market share to trucks. In 2017-18, its market share was 32%, down from 52% a decade earlier, according to the World Bank. Meanwhile, road freight is the largest contributor to GHG emissions, accounting for 95% of the freight sector’s emissions while rail emits about one-fifth of trucks’ GHG emissions.
“While reducing greenhouse gases, the new project will also benefit millions of rail passengers in India as railway lines get decongested with freight moving to dedicated lines,” said Hideki Mori, the World Bank’s operations manager and acting country director, India. “Integrating railways with the wider logistics ecosystem is also key to reducing India’s high logistics cost, which are much higher than in developed nations. This will make Indian firms more competitive.”
In June, Indian Railways hauled 125.50 megatons (MT), its best-ever monthly freight loading, India’s Ministry of Railways announced on July 1. It marked 22 consecutive months of monthly freight-loading increases. Fueling the growth: the incremental loading of 13.19 MT in coal; 1.68 MT in cement and cement clinker; 1.57 MT in other goods and 0.64 MT in food grains, Ministry officials said.
Urge to merge: DB Schenker, USA Truck seek to combine
On June 24, DB Schenker and USA Truck announced an agreement under which DB Schenker would acquire all outstanding shares of USA Truck common stock for $31.72 per share in cash. The transaction values USA Truck at $435 million, including assumed cash and debt.
Upon completion of the transaction, DB Schenker would expand USA Truck’s presence in North America, while utilizing its complementary international logistics expertise, air transport services and ocean gateways to “benefit USA Truck’s existing customer base,” officials said. DB Schenker also intends to expand its global logistics services across land, air, and ocean transportation services, as well as comprehensive solutions for logistics and global supply chain management.
“We view this transaction as a platform for growth and by combining these organizations, we will greatly enhance our presence in the North American land transport space,” said Joe Jaska, DB Schenker’s executive vice president land transport, Americas Region.
Port selects operating system for first fully automated terminal in Korea
Dongwon Global Terminal (DGT) has selected CyberLogitec’s terminal operating system for its fully automated Busan New Port terminal in the Republic of Korea.
The automation project ordered by DGT Consortium and Dongwon Enterprise is expected to go live for the second to the fifth terminal by July 2023, and the second to the sixth terminal by 2026, CyberLogitec officials said on June 27. It’ll be the first fully automated terminal operating system project utilizing automatic transfer equipment in the Republic of Korea, company officials added. The smart automated terminal operating system will feature the latest IT technology, including IoT and Big Data.
CyberLogitec has completed its transition of the fist vertical automated terminal in Korea in BNCT (Busan New Port Harbor No. 2 and No. 3.
Global robotic last-mile delivery revenue to reach $670 million in 2030 — ABI Research
Worldwide robotic last-mile delivery revenues will grow from $70 million in 2022 to $670 million in 2030, according to research from global technology intelligence firm ABI Research. Furthermore, the value of those parcels delivered by Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) could reach US$3.3 billion by 2030, ABI officials said on June 28.
Lack of profitability and decreasing time to deliver are among retailers’ top concerns for retailers, restaurants, and last-mile delivery service providers globally.
“As inflation and vehicle costs rise exponentially, these businesses are struggling to raise prices on wary consumers and businesses, while needing to protect margins,” said Adhish Luitel, ABI’s senior analyst, supply chain management & logistics.
Key initiatives include reducing labor, vehicle maintenance costs, and fuel requirements while scaling to meet demand and customer expectations.
“The use of automation will continue to grow as governments increase regulatory approvals, more companies scale revenue-producing operations, and both consumers and businesses find value in low touch, quick delivery of their items,” Luitel said.
TT Club exec highlights long-term changes to supply chain risk profiles
The on-going effects of the pandemic, with its associated lockdowns and the war in Ukraine, “are proving catalysts to ignite underlying economic and environmental trends that will continue to fuel long-term changes in the pattern of global supply and demand,” as officials of TT Club put it in a July 4 release.
TT Club is a provider of mutual insurance and related risk management services to the international transport and logistics industry.
“We are suffering from a disappearing ability to absorb short-term shocks to the supply chain because of fundamental societal and geopolitical changes to the global equilibrium,” Dorota Jilli, a TT Club senior underwriter speaking at the Annual Conference of the European Sea Ports Organisation, held last month in Valencia. “Yes, COVID and the war are disruptive and are driving up prices, but the longer-term trends of production cost increases in Asia and stricter demands of ESG (environmental and social governance issues) mean that cheaper goods and transport services are features of a past global economy.”
Abandoned cargo is more prevalent with delays through port congestion and lockdown closures, which means the incidence of consignee bankruptcy (goods unwanted due to loss of markets) is higher. This is “particularly concerning” when dangerous goods are left in storage “for excessive periods as the tragic incidents in Beirut last year and in Chittagong more recently attest,” Jilli said.
“Cargo at rest, either at ports or inland staging areas, some of which have been hurriedly pressed into service as overflow facilities, is increasingly subject to theft,” she added. “With shippers looking for ‘workarounds’ to reduce costs or avoid congestion, thieves have been quick to adapt their methodologies and the use of online means of deception and insider recruitment are now both more common.”
