Adani Logistics,NYK arm form rail logistics JV for auto sector

Adani Logistics, an arm of Adani Ports and SEZ, today signed an agreement with NYK Auto Logistics India to form a joint venture that will specialise in transportation of finished vehicles using freight trains.

Adani Logistics already has category 1 licence from the railway ministry which allows it to operate container trains on the broad-gauge network of the Railways throughout the country.

The joint venture aims at strengthening the finished vehicles transportation service network in the country, a statement from Adani Logistics said.

Karan Adani, chief executive, Adani Ports, said this association combines the strengths of individual companies and will utilise these available assets and expertise to deliver end-to-end value driven, asset and service based, supply chain solutions to the domestic automobile industry.

NYK Auto Logistics managing director Naotaka Ishizawa said the partnership will allow them to strengthen their inland capabilities in the country with a reliable association focusing on quality and visibility in the supply chain.

While the domestic auto sector grew 16 per cent in FY18, government has been promoting alternative means of transportation to reduce carbon footprint, and one of the steps in this regard is transporting vehicles through the Railways.

The JV will participate in AFTO policy of the Railways and offer its automobile freight trains to ferry vehicles across the country in a more efficient manner, it said.

Since the company expects finished vehicles distribution through rail mode to grow faster than the industry's growth rate, it sees a great opportunity, and in the JV will help its ride this growth.

Accordingly, the JV is planning to commence operation with six automobile freight trains, which will be scaled up to 25 over the next three years.

Adani Logistics is into integrated logistics services offering end-to-end logistics solutions, including owning and operating container freight stations, ICDs, multi-modal logistic parks and transportation services and cargo handling.

NYK Auto Logistics India is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Group) of Japan which has local logistics network. In India, the company specialises in finished vehicles with value-added services like PDI operations at OEM plants, port terminal management, end-to-end logistics including inland yard management and inland transportation.