Major transporters of Maruti Suzuki’s cars seem sure to take a hit if the ongoing shutdown of the company’s Manesar plant continues for some more time.
Key players
Adani Port SEZ — which helps move cars meant for export to the Mundra port — and transporters of its inventory by road, such as Chetak Logistics, Delhi Gujarat Freight Carrier, Mahaveera, KMT and Jujhar, will be among the logistics service providers to get affected due to the disruption.
Adani Port SEZ, which is a listed entity, is a stakeholder at two levels. While its Mundra Port handles Maruti’s export cargo, the company’s container transportation unit moves the cars to the ports. Each month, Maruti exports roughly 9,000 cars — of these 3,500-4,000 cars are moved to the Mundra Port by Adani Rail, the container transportation arm. In 2011-12, over 95,000 cars were exported from the Mundra Port.
Sources at the Mundra Port said the impact has been marginal so far , an indication that the company’s inventory for export is sufficient to meet current demand. “The entire export yard —which has a 22,000-car capacity — was full as of Friday,” said an official at the Mundra Port.
From the ports, shipping lines NYK and K-Line take charge of the cargo.
High stakes
Nearly 80-85 per cent of the cars meant for export are manufactured at Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar unit. Mumbai Port too handles a small share of Maruti’s exports. These cars are transported by rail to the port by Container Corporation of India and Indian Railways’ auto-wagons.
Transport by Road
The remaining cars are moved by the road transporters.
“The major transporters, who carry the Swift and Swift Dzire models from Manesarto the West and the South, have a fleet of 500-1,000 car carrier trailers,” said a source involved in the transportation of cars from the Manesar unit.
“Meanwhile, some road carriers – who serve the domestic market – have started diverting their fleet to (meet the requirements of) other car companies that have increased their production, and also for general cargo transportation,” said Mr S. P. Singh, an industry expert at the Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training.