Logistics company Western Carriers is looking to increase its business from the domestic segment significantly in the next three years to hedge against continued uncertainty about global trade, which has been impacting its Exim segment.

The company is planning to set up its biggest multi-modal logistics park in Gujarat this fiscal. The hub, to be developed on a 30-acre land near Halvad, will have connectivity to west coast ports like Mundra and Pipavav. Also, it is actively scouting for useful locations to build a logistics hub in Kolkata as well, as multimodal logistics is supposed to grow very fast going forward.

“Exim business had constituted around 75 per cent of our turnover in FY24. Due to the global trade challenges following a substantial rise in geopolitical risks, the Exim business was hit last fiscal, when its volumes declined by 12 per cent for us. In this situation, we tried hard and increased the domestic business volume by 32 per cent. As a result, currently, the Exim segment contributes around 70 per cent of the turnover, while the domestic segment’s contribution rises to 30 per cent from 25 per cent earlier,” said Kanishka Sethia, Director and CEO, Western Carriers (India).

The Kolkata-based logistics company is trying hard to grow its business domestically after facing a difficult Exim situation in the last couple of years.

“In the next three years, our domestic segment is expected to contribute around 40 per cent to our turnover, and, Exim segment’s contribution would come down to 60 per cent. This will be in order to hedge against international uncertainty,” Sethia told businessline.

The company is planning to develop new logistics hubs pan-India to expand its domestic footprint. It expects the upcoming multimodal logistics park in Gujarat’s Morbi district to facilitate local trade and industries with great connectivity to ports like Pipavav and Mundra.

Planning stage

“The Kolkata hub is in the planning stage with the company actively scouting for useful locations,” Sethia informed.

“For the current financial year ₹100 crore is our capital expenditure plan, and it will be used in specialized assets, including reach stackers, trailers, logistics parks, and customized containers, among others. The company’s capex for the last financial year was around ₹70 crore,” he said.

Western Carriers remains optimistic about a global trade rebound this fiscal. “A potential ceasefire between Israel and Iran would reduce the geopolitical risks substantially. Once the conflict is resolved, global trade will be stabilized. Then we will see all of a sudden a spark in the Exim numbers,” Sethia added.

There is considerable speculation that Iran might retaliate for US’s strikes on several of its nuclear sites by disrupting global oil and gas flows out of the Middle East, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz, which is the world’s busiest oil shipping channel.

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Published on June 29, 2025