Logistics company Western Carriers, which has launched its own multi-modal cargo terminal in Gujarat’s Halvad, is keen to set up more such logistics hubs across the country to boost its domestic cargo business.
The company expects the Gujarat multi-modal cargo terminal to achieve its full capacity in the next 12 months, Kanishka Sethia, Director and CEO, Western Carriers (India) said.
“We started operations at the cargo terminal in Gujarat around three months ago. So, it has not reached the full capacity. Currently, we are handling 8-10 rakes per month from here. The full capacity would be over three times of it. In order to reach the full volume, we need three to four quarters,” Sethia said.
Spanning over 30 acres, the cargo terminal was officially launched in July, to provide comprehensive multimodal logistics solutions for transportation via road and rail, utilising both container rake and wagon rake systems.
From this terminal, currently cargo is being carried to Bengaluru and Hyderabad in the South, Delhi NCR in the North, and Kolkata, Patna and Guwahati in the East through railway wagons and containers.
Recovery in EXIM
Kolkata-headquartered Western Carriers has got the wagons from Indian Railways and containers from Concor (Container Corporation of India) on rental basis.
“If we see domestic cargo volume for us, it rose 25.39 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter compared to the first quarter of the current financial year. That was a tremendous surge. EXIM grew around 2 per cent q-o-q in Q2 FY26. The good thing is the EXIM business has started showing signs of recovery,” said the CEO.
In the second quarter this fiscal, the EXIM business did not witness a good growth due to the geopolitical situation.
The company is planning to set up more logistics hubs across the country. “Over the next four to six years, we want to build at least four hubs. The locations of these hubs will depend on business,” Sethia said.
“In the next four years, our capex plan is around ₹400 crore,” he added. Notably, last mile delivery innovations have emerged as a critical domestic as well as global trend.
