FREIGHT CHARGES
Asia Rice: Thai, Vietnam prices drop; African demand slows on high freight rates
Thailand's 5% broken rice rates dropped to $585 per ton on Thursday, their lowest level since April 25, and were down from $595 last week.
Russia boosts oil revenues as shipping and trading network grows
Russian oil exporters are selling oil to India at higher prices than at any time since the start of the Ukraine war, as more shippers and traders participate in the trade, weakening the impact of Western sanctions. The exporters have had to offer deep discounts to encourage shipping companies to move their crude since the invasion of Ukraine. Despite this, deals struck this month for Urals oil delivery to Indian refiners are at discounts of $3 to $3.50 per barrel to the global Brent crude benchmark, the narrowest since 2023.
As tensions mount in Red Sea, freight charges, insurance premiums may surge further
Heightened tensions between Iran and Israel are expected to increase freight charges and insurance premiums for shipping vessels on global routes. Ships bound for western European countries and the US are particularly at risk. Freight rates have already risen by about $100 per container for ships going through the Red Sea due to disruptions and capacity constraints. War risk insurance premiums, which were previously around 0.05% of the insured value of the vessel, have now increased to between 0.75% and 1%.
How Amazon became the largest private EV charging operator in the US
In a little more than two years, Amazon has installed more than 17,000 chargers at about 120 warehouses around the US.
Red Sea crisis: Over 700% rise in freight rates give exporters a sinking feeling
Supply chain woes mount for traders as the Houthi attacks increase freight rates, insurance costs and travel time.
Red Sea Crisis: No disruption in oil flows to India, only freight up, says HPCL head
The attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea by Houthi militants have not affected India's crude oil supply, according to Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) Chairman Pushp Kumar Joshi. He mentioned that although Russian ships and cargoes are not primary targets of the attacks, the rerouting of ships around the Cape of Good Hope has led to longer voyages, causing a shortage of ships and an increase in freight charges.
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Exports from Kolkata port may be hit due to soaring freight rate, rice ban, geopolitical turmoil
Exports from Kolkata port, a key gateway to eastern India, are facing challenges such as geopolitical tensions, a government-imposed rice export ban, and soaring ocean freight costs. Key export items like engineering goods, shrimp, and rice have been impacted. Freight charges, especially for West Coast destinations, have surged by 30-50% since December 2023 due to the conflict in the Red Sea, leading to rerouting of vessels.
Jindal Stainless cuts export forecast on Red Sea crisis, weaker EU, US demand
India's biggest stainless steel manufacturer hopes to ship out 10-12% of its estimated overall sales of over 2.1 million metric tons in 2023/24, down from its previous forecast of 15%, Abhyuday Jindal, managing director of Jindal Stainless, told Reuters in an interview. The company is exploring "new options" and a "variable freight model", Jindal said, as part of efforts to deal with the challenges posed by attacks launched by the Iran-allied Houthi militia on ships in the Red Sea. He did not give details of the options being weighed by his company.
Indian Railways cuts SUV mass transport rates by 33%
According to officials aware of the matter, the new rates for transporting SUVs is 33% lower than the existing charges for moving large passenger vehicles. "There was a demand from automobile transporters to rationalise rates since demand for large cars has risen in the Indian market," a top railways official told ET. SUVs have become the rage with the share of such vehicles rising to 49% in the domestic passenger vehicle market in calendar year 2023. In comparison, the share of small cars, once the dominant category, fell to about 30% in the same period.
EVs development, adoption to play major role in India's transition to low carbon economy: DPIIT Secy
The Indian government has outlined its vision to make the country a developed nation by 2047, with a major focus on the shift towards electric vehicles (EVs). The plan includes tax incentives, production linked incentive schemes, and the mandatory provision of charging infrastructure to support the adoption of EVs. The government aims to decarbonize the freight transport sector by shifting modal share from road to rail. The vision was discussed by Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh during a session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
Significant jump in freight rates to hurt trade; India needs own shipping line, say exporters
The situation around the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping route connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean, has escalated due to recent attacks by Yemen-based Houthi militants.
Charting the global economy: Ocean freight rates from Asia to Europe more than double in weeks
Ocean freight rates for goods from Asia to Europe have more than doubled over the past four weeks.
Government exempts IGST on ocean freight from October 1
KPMG Indirect Tax Head & Partner Abhishek Jain said the amendments proposed are aligned with the apex court's ruling in the case of Mohit Minerals and help explicitly mention the government's alignment to the position. "While this has been issued prospectively, the industry has been seeking and successfully claiming refund of taxes already paid for the past period, where credit has not been availed," Jain added.
Balasore accident: CBI files charge sheet against 3 railway officials for culpable homicide, destruction of evidence
In its charge sheet filed before Special CBI court in Bhubaneswar, the CBI has charged the accused under Indian Penal Code Section 304 part II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), Section 34 read with 201 (common cause read with destruction of evidence) and 153 of the Railways Act.
View: Setting the agenda for a zero emission freight transition in India
There are different policy levers for India to consider while looking at pathways towards zero emission trucking, ranging from mandatory CAFE regulations for MHCVs, green cess on diesel fuel, capital subsidies for Zero Emission Trucks and charging infrastructure, minimum share of electric fleet requirements, among others.
Treading the electric truck transition
The Indian EV ecosystem is evolving and the niche e-MHDT segment has just started to take root. A lack of e-truck models in heavier segments, high upfront cost, range anxiety to users due to inadequate charging infrastructure in long-haul operations etc are key barriers to the transition.
Consumers seek tariff rationalisation on dedicated freight corridor
Commenting on the need to rationalise rail tariffs, Manish Puri, president, Association of Container Train Operators (ACTO) said, "Rail is more expensive than road in the light cargo category. This is because charging is done directionally in road. So light cargo in export direction on road is cheaper than the rail route."
Shipping, allied industries battle choppy waters as margins sink
As things stand, freight rates in key transit routes have declined over the past 3-4 months to as much as just a quarter of what they averaged a couple of years ago due to lower consumption in western markets amid global economic headwinds. With that, containers have piled up at Indian ports, resulting in a reversal of the situation from just a year ago when shippers were running from pillar to post to get their hands on empty containers.
Railways mulls tariff policy change to lure FMCG, computer parts
Under the existing regime, the railways charges commoditywise rates based on classification of goods. This list has items such as coal, iron and other goods that are frequently transported using the rail network.
Maersk sees global trade contracting as much as 2.5% in 2023
The shipping market has normalised after two years of exceptionally high freight rates, when supply snarls and and a shortage of vessels allowed Maersk and its peers to charge higher prices for their services and pocket record profits.
Textile entrepreneurs hope for better stability with reduction in freight charges, cotton prices
Participating in an interactive session here, around 120 managing directors of spinning mills discussed various issues including cotton prices and freight rates, according to Indian Texpreneurs Federation, the organisers of the event.
Taxing free-on-board imports: Gujarat High Court seeks Centre's reply
A decision on the issue will have wide ramifications for crude oil, alcohol, and capital goods as a large quantum of their imports are on FOB basis as also on tax collections, experts said.
Exporters may have great festive season amid withdrawal of GST exemption on outbound international freight
The pandemic resulted in severe supply disruption across the globe, and as result the freight rates are much higher today than it was during pre-pandemic.
Shift from roads to rail picks up pace, thanks to dedicated freight corridor
As per the report, container cargo transported through railways (rail volumes) rose by a healthy 17.63 per cent year-on-year to 74.38 million metric tonnes during the previous fiscal as compared to 12.51 per cent growth in overall container cargo volumes.
New Maersk warehouse run by women begins operations in Uttar Pradesh
The journey began in January 2022 when the existing team at the Dadri CFS started having a dialogue with local contracting agencies to build a case for women to be trained and offered employment in the upcoming new warehouse.
Railway freight loading rises 14.7 per cent in May 2022
“Except Raw material for Steel Plants (including Iron Ore) and finished steel, all commodities have registered a volume growth over the corresponding period of last year,” the statement said.
Consumers to feel heat of higher input costs
Apparel exporters are renegotiating rates with big brands to pass on higher cost, while prices of agriculture commodities such as basmati rice have already gone up amid crop damage due to the inclement weather in India affecting production and supplies.
India set to achieve the $400 billion annual exports milestone
Soaring global commodity prices, including of key inputs such as oil, chemicals, metals, plastic and cotton, are largely responsible for this rise. The volume growth is not commensurate with this value growth, traders and industry watchers say.
Container crisis, high freight charges hit exports from Kolkata
Freight charges have skyrocketed and freight forwarders to the West Coast are also declining to book cargo due to severe scarcity of containers, exporters said.
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