Analysts: India's hobbled logistics infrastructure needs big investments fast

Poor infrastructure joins worker unrest in India's logistics industry. Warehousing and cold-chain infrastructure are "the weakest links," and require "special attention," say analysts at a recent seminar in Hyderabad.

About 90 percent of India's warehouse facilities--comprising some 1.8 billion square feet--have no automated material-handling systems; most still have asbestos roofing. And the country needs "at least 25 to 30 million square feet of additional warehousing space annually," the analysts say, in a local press report. Its 5,400 cold storage facilities require millions of dollars of investment over the next five years to keep pace with the growing requirements.

The infrastructure issues combine with worker strikes plus road and rail blockades, especially in Hyderabad. Indian officials at that time launched a task force to keep commerce moving.

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