Top three trends driving Liquid Logistics industry

The process of consolidation lets you to decrease the dependence on middle-chain suppliers & expand into new markets while integrating your operations vertically. Although the global pandemic has slowed consolidation, it is anticipated that this activity will not only begin, however potentially augment in the post-pandemic world.

Sustainability: To become more environmentally-friendly by increasing reuse of products

The development of advanced plastics that is used to manufacture intermediate bulk containers that include drums, & totes has benefitted the liquid logistics sector. Intermediate Bulk Containers or IBCs are food safe & these can be used for several other bulk transports, which include liquids. An advantage of Intermediate Bulk Containers is that they can be reused, and this helps in waste reduction.

Intermediate Bulk Containers are also lighter when compared to stainless steel tanks, significantly & a lighter load surges the fuel efficiency of liquid transport trucks.

It is more environmentally-friendly to utilize larger bulk liquid containers with greater durability when compared to smaller containers that most often possess a shorter service life & wear out faster via continual use.

Furthermore, the present focus on environmental issues have also contributed to sustainability in the bulk liquid transport sector. Climate change as well as environmental regulation have resulted in commitments to both improve fuel efficiency & decrease carbon emissions. And due to this, the use of alternative technologies that include natural gas, hybrid vehicles as well as fuel cells will escalate within the next few years.

Unfortunately, the pandemic has brought about a rapid decline in both the domestic & international economic activity. While the bulk of manufacturing was still considered critical, there were huge shifts in both the production as well as distribution processes which seemed to occur overnight & this included the rapid need to increase production of medical supplies as well as hand sanitizers & the need for testing and sanitizing tools and equipment.

The impact of the pandemic has also brought tightening cash flows, rampant uncertainty & priorities that have changed in order to care for personal as well as employee health. Though the well-being of employees stayed a top priority, the additional as well as necessary precautions led to a slowdown among distributors & suppliers, which in turn led to delaying many shipments.

The road ahead

As we begin to turn a corner and enter the new normal, companies are starting to see improvements with their businesses. The liquid bulk transportation industry has never been more essential than in these ever-changing times.

“The next generation liquid logistics management solutions are moving towards making the supply chains more customer-centric and sustainable”, says A Kabra, CEO, Bulk Liquid Solutions.

Firms also have the aim for carrying out advancements in charging stations for offering rapid charging. This is anticipated to help the liquid logistics transportation vessels decrease the downtime which is needed to transform batteries. In turn, this is expected to boost the liquid & bulk transportation vessels market.