CONCOR faces competition from private road operators primarily on the basis of price and transit time. The Company believes that it competes favorably with road transportation on the basis of price on movement of heavier cargoes over longer distances, although the truck operators may offer, among other things, greater flexibility with respect to the timing of shipments. Volvo trucks, with vastly reduced transit times as compared to conventional trucks, are challenging the rail transit times of CONCOR and are set to heighten competition.

In order to take full advantage of the rail linkages offered, while at the same time offering the reach and dependability of road services, the concept of "hub and spoke" operations is becoming more and more crucial to Company’s operations. Hub and Spoke operations are feasible for both the international and domestic business segments. Such operations involve the linking of road or short lead rail shuttle services within defined catchment areas, to long lead point to point train services.

Presently, ICD Tughlakabad is one major terminal serving as a hub for terminals like Ludhiana, Moradabad, Panipat etc. Similarly, ICD Dadri also acts a Hub for facilities like SIDCUL, Panthnagar and ICD Agra.

In recent years, ICD Khatuwas too has emerged as an important Transshipment Hub between Northern India and Western ports of Mundra/Pipavav for Double Stack container rake movement. Scheduled shuttle services ply between ICD Tughlakabad/ICD Dadri and ICD Khatuwas. At Khatuwas, these containers are re-worked and Double Stack container rakes are then dispatched to Gateway Ports ensuring faster clearance.

Competition in the field of container handling is increasing, especially in the metropolitan ports. Several companies have started operations in ports. In the deep hinterland, private operators have set up various new terminals. However, as CONCOR concentrates on its hub-spoke strategy, these developments can become complementary to CONCOR's operations, as our competitors in the CFS business often become customers for transport of containers from and to gateway ports.

In the domestic arena as well, hub and spoke movements allow for a better utilization of transport potential and allow for long lead services to be generated on the basis of short lead traffic collections using road and rail shuttle services. This service can be especially useful for big corporates for whom production centers are concentrated in a single location, but distribution needs are national in scale. CONCOR has already successfully moved white cement as a commodity using this experiment, whereby the product has been distributed over various locations after being picked up from a single production center.

HUB & SPOKE

Transportation becomes seamless and "door-to-door" through Hub & Spoke