Containerization Is on the Fast Track in India

Abstract

Containerization is the method of packing goods in reusable containers for transportation. Containerization has gained in popularity due to its inherent advantages of supporting inter-modal transport, additional safety of goods, cost effectiveness and faster speed of transportation. More than 90% of world merchandise trade is carried by sea and over 50% of that volume is Containerization. However, in India containerization is picked up only in the last decade owing to better infrastructure, Government focus and increased private participation. Globally, the level of Containerization is 50%, as against just over 16% in India. Burgeoning trade particularly textile, auto & auto components, engineering and capital goods have been the major driving force behind Containerization in India. Remarkably, India’s container traffic is growing faster than the global container traffic for the last 6-7 years, after private container terminals on BOT basis have started participating i.e. NSICT, CCTL, MICT, VCTPL and IGTPL state of art container terminals. The paper deals with many more such interesting issues and these issues are highly relevant as container trade forms a vital part of logistics and supply chain management.