Container freight stations should be allowed to handle more logistics services, domestic cargo

As the government is working on a new multi-modal national logistics policy, the Container Freight Stations Association (CFSes Association), whose members have been finding their going tough since 2016, has said CFSes should be allowed handle more logistics services, especially domestic cargo, so that their idling space can be gainfully engaged. According to the association, the 160-odd CFSes across the ports have been operating at around 40 per cent capacity on one hand, and on wafer-thin margins on the other, as most containers are directly delivered to consignees now.

With the increased DPD (direct port delivery) and various Customs-initiated reforms like RMS (risk management systems), almost all the CFSes remain largely underutilized. They are currently functioning at around 40 per cent of their functional capacity, Umesh Grover, secretary-general of the Container Freight Station Association told .