P AllI RANI, Director of Finance of Container Corporation of India limited shares with Team Pioneer about it’s contributions, market share and the challenges faced by them due to international competition
What is the contribution of CONCOR to Indian Railways revenueIJ
The contribution of the container sector is approximately around 5 percent of Indian Railways total turnover. CONCOR has currently around 75 percent of market share. The Contribution of the Rail container sector indirectly also is a part of Indian Railways performance, because IR provides the tracks as well as locomotives. But when the Railway infrastructure is enhanced through the Dedicated Freight Corridor, this contribution can go up to about 20 percent.
In future would container traffic railway lines ever get priority over passenger rail traffic given that container traffic transports vital goods and infrastructure material across IndiaIJ
Currently the plan which is being implemented is to have dedicated goods traffic lines. It will give a boost to the container traffic. When there are no passenger trains on the line, then definitely goods traffic will get priority, but it is not exclusively for containers. Around 60 percent of the trains on these dedicated corridors are likely to be container trains.
How has the Vallarpadam container terminal fared since its opening two years ago in Kerala. Where are the future container terminals coming up in IndiaIJ
Vallarpadam container terminal in which CONCOR also is a part-owner, the number of ships calling has more than doubled in the past one year period. The business volume is expected to increase further for which government has issued some relaxations in cabotage laws. Future container terminals are coming up both on the Eastern and Western Coasts of India.
What is the impact of rising diesel fuel costs on CONCOR’s profitability and how future volatility in diesel prices will be taken into this accountIJ
We don’t have diesel costs as a major cost because we pay haulage to the Indian Railways, which takes care of fuel costs also. We have to pull up our socks and face competition if diesel costs increase further. But as per the latest reports, the cost of diesel is likely to stabilize which will be good news for Container Train Operators as far as competition from road is concerned.
What does the future hold for CONCORIJ
CONCOR has a very important role to play in all the initiatives being taken by the government for economic progress, whether it is Make in India, increase in exports or improvement in general infrastructure for domestic change. Demand for rail connected warehousing would increase where CONCOR will be playing a major role, since it will be providing this infrastructure over a large network to the trade and manufacturing industry.
Tell us about the interest of big Indian corporate houses in the logistics and freight industry. Will it pose any challenge to CONCORIJ
CONCOR itself in the container segment faces competition from 16 big corporate houses including Reliance, Adani and also international companies like DP World, MSC etc. There are currently big entrants into the warehousing sector also. CONCOR has to face these challenges in the near future, and we are well-prepared for doing this.