Improve logistics in coastal shipping for savings: Study

A study by global consultants McKinsey & Co and AECOM for the Ministry of Shipping says optimising the logistics flow for key commodities by 2025 could save Rs.30,000-40,000 crore. It recommends creation of more capacity at major ports and a logistics aggregator company to consolidate the shipping supply chain. The report says coastal shipping capacity can handle 150-250 million tonnes annually of cargo comprising coal, cement, iron and steel, food-grain and fertiliser. There is a potential here to save Rs.10,000-20,000 crore by 2025. By setting up new coastal capacities for bulk commodities for 100-120 mt annually, the saving would be Rs.6,000-8,000 crore. By reducing the time to export containers by five days, another Rs.10,000-12,000 crore can be saved, the study said. Raising Railways´ share in container traffic would lead to savings of Rs.3,000-6,000 crore.