KSH Distriparks Offering ‘Fit to Ship’ Containers

The company’s Maintenance and Repair facility at its ICD in Pune is enhancing container turnaround time and we are also establishing more empty yards in various inland locations to further shorten the container turnaround time, informs Malcolm D’Souza, Chief Commercial Officer, KSH Distriparks.

What new developments are impacting the Cargo Container Market?

The overall growth in international trade due to the ability to source raw materials and finished goods easily is driving the container market. Larger vessels are being designed and constructed, which has increased the holding capacity of the container ships.

We expect to see further growth in the container market with digitalization making commodities easily accessible across the world. The increasing demand for commodities and their easy accessibility will increase the demand for containers and their scope for transportation. Containerization is the safest and most cost-effective way of transporting goods (both small and large volumes) through multimodal transportation modes like road, rail and air, enabling a seamless, safe, and cost-effective solution.

How are Inland Container Depots (ICDs) and Container Freight Station (CFSs) enhancing the efficiency, connectivity, and resilience of the Container Industry?

The ICDs and CFSs are acting as an interim storage model to reduce the burden on gateway ports, which are built with a limited capacity and are more focused on achieving throughput in container handling. ICD and CFS help decongest ports as they provide storage and other value-added activities that would not have been possible in the terminals.

At the CFS and ICD it is possible to cherry pick a container to plan the transport according to the weight requirement. The CFS and ICD hold containers and plan their movement efficiently by decongesting the arterial roads leading to ports. The ICD acts as an interim storage facility closer to the points of consumption, making the supply chain more economical, reliable and efficient.

What are the challenges in the Container industry?

The container industry has been experiencing challenging times in the last few years due to volatility in freight rates, which is impacting demand for containers. There is a shortage of containers due to certain geo-political factors that have adversely impacted availability of raw materials for manufacturing containers.

For a lot of carriers, the turnaround time of containers and managing the overall inventory in certain regions is a daunting task. The maintenance and repair of containers also becomes a challenge when freight rates increase, and containers are in short supply. Often, the carriers are more focused on inventory turnaround of the containers, which involves the time taken in receiving, processing, and returning the containers on the orders.

How is your company responding to the challenges?

KSH Distriparks has an Inland Container Depot (ICD) located in Talegaon, Pune, where we have reduced container dwell time with the introduction of the Triangulation method of container allotment. We are enabling quick container turnaround time by bringing storage closer to the point of consumption. This has also helped in reducing our carbon footprint and the container cost for importers and exporters.

We have set up the first Maintenance and Repair facility for containers to provide a “fit to ship” containers from the same ICD in Pune, where we were the first to start a dedicated empty yard to cater to and also reduce the empty container drayage between Mumbai and Pune, thus validating a successful model for container turnaround time. We are now focused on establishing more satellite empty yards in various inland locations to further shorten the container turnaround time.

In what ways are government policies shaping the industry?

The Government has been focusing on ‘ease of doing business’ for which it has been introducing new and efficient ways of customs clearance; infrastructure capabilities have been significantly enhanced, and we anticipate further development in the infrastructure segment to enhance the overall efficiency in EXIM. Government policies such as DPD (Direct Port Delivery) and DPE (Direct Port Entry) have helped in improving the overall turnaround time of cargo and containers. The establishment of new ICDs in the hinterland is significantly enhancing trade and boosting the infrastructure for container storage, handling, and transport.