Strategic Analysis of the Indian Western Dedicated Rail Freight Corridor and Its Impact on Indian Logistics, 2017-2041

Freight Flows in India to be Revolutionised With Modern Facilities and State-of-the-art Equipment

With the construction of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC), India would explore new opportunities along the corridor to best utilise its capacity and efficiency in the transportation of freight. Indian cold chain logistics will benefit from this due to the demand for fresh produce to be conveniently delivered to end users at their door steps. This would also allow import of goods on a global scale as people start demanding goods all-year round irrespective of domestic seasonal availability, as they can be transported and stored in refrigerated trucks and cold storage warehouses.

Consumption of cold stored products is becoming increasingly popular in India, with a large working population seeking convenience in fresh produce that is preserved for longer shelf life. This growing need for cold stored products and off-season products around the year, is beneficial for setting up cold storage facilities in and around the dedicated freight corridors and in-freight trains. Cold chain logistics in India is fragmented and is highly unorganised, allowing international participants in the cold chain market to take charge of the market and have more organised distribution of consumer products. Opening the market for international participants would allow new, innovative logistics technology to be available in India and would enable existing participants in the Indian logistics market to adopt them through intelligent partnerships with the companies entering the market.

Freight transportation in India is expected to have a 15% year-on-year increase for the next decade due to the growing demand for imported products for consumption and cold storage products among the urban working population. The existing volumes of  cold storage trucks are highly insufficient with the demand being 60,000 reefer trucks and the current capacity at 10,000 reefer trucks. Upgrading freight trains to be cold-storage compatible and utilising trucks to cater to the first- and last-mile requirements would be the ideal for cold chain products to be efficiently delivered to end consumers in pristine condition.

Research Highlights
This research service provides company profiles of all key logistics solution providers, cold chain product distributors, cold storage companies, and online retailers for consumer goods in India. It also encompasses market shares of key companies in the industries considered, market drivers and market restraints, and key areas of growth opportunities. Challenges faced by these companies in India are explained in detail along with ideas on mitigating the situation to make these services more efficient and the products more reliable. The roles played by the ministries in India are also explained and the benefits for industry participants in cold chain logistics are included as well.