 "Inland waterways, coastal shipping gaining ground with carmakers")
With an increasing number of automakers opting for waterways to transport vehicles over costlier and conventional methods such as road and railway, this environment-friendly means of transportation is here to stay despite faring low on the timing front.
Industry representatives said a company can save around Rs 1,500 a car through coastal transportation. Besides, moving vehicles through the coastal route would also help them to send more number of vehicles, mitigating the risk of depending on road transport alone.
Coastal shipping offers certain key advantages like cost effectiveness, environment-friendly and helps reducing traffic congestion, said V Anand, senior general manager (sales and logistics), Hyundai Motor India.
If a customer is willing to wait a little longer, say between three to five days, then it is a good option, he added. For instance, from Tamil Nadu to Gujarat, it will normally take around six to seven days by road, as against 10-12 days by sea.
The primary mode of movement of automobiles for domestic sales in India is trucks plying on congested roads.
Therefore, the potential coastal transport market segment could be strong; for example, 50 ship calls a year with 1,000 cars per call will be required if 30 per cent of the Kerala market shifts to the coastal transport mode.
Besides coastal shipping, transportation through inland waterways, especially in the Ganga, is seen to have a big potential. In August 2016, Maruti Suzuki signed a pact with the government for transportation of vehicles through inland waterways. This was followed by Mahindra & Mahindra and Honda, which are now in talks with the ministry of shipping and the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) for using water transport to take vehicles from their factories, mainly to cut logistics cost. IWAI and the ministry are deliberating on the details of cost, savings and carrying capacity.
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The new National Waterways Act, 2016, says 111 rivers are to be converted into national waterways. The water transportation cost is estimated at 50 paise a km, compared to Rs 1 a km by rail and Rs 1.5 a km by road.
One of the ports seen to have a huge potential for the movement of cars through coastal waters is the Cochin Port. Major automobile manufacturers are moving cars to dealers in Kerala from factories in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Haryana. The Cochin port has offered rebates in port charges, concessional wharfage of Rs 500 per car and Rs 900 per truck, and 50 per cent rebate in the notified vessel related charges.