Freight Rates

A 28-30 per cent surge in global freight costs amid geopolitical tensions, including the escalating West Asia situation, is emerging as the biggest challenge for India's steel industry, even as domestic operations and raw material supplies remain largely stable, a senior Tata Steel official said. The sharp rise in shipping rates, triggered by instability in West Asia and the prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict, is significantly increasing logistics costs for steelmakers dependent on imported coking coal, he said. "For steel, the biggest impact is freight. Freight rates have gone up by almost 28-30 per cent... This is the direct impact. First, the Russia-Ukraine war, and now the West Asia situation... This is definitely having a cascading effect on almost all countries," Tata Steel Vice-President (Corporate Services) D B Sundara Ramam told PTI. Despite global disruptions, the steel industry has so far managed to maintain production levels, though rising freight and logistics costs are

Truck operators and logistics firms expect freight rates to rise after the latest diesel price hike, warning of mounting pressure on margins and operating costs

The RELIEF scheme mainly includes consignments destined for delivery or trans-shipment to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Israel, and Yemen

Advertise on rail coaches, wagons for revenue boost, says panel

While packaging and freight costs may rise, FMCG companies are holding off on price increases, citing hedging cover and watching for sustained crude price trends

Global volatility has impacted container trading rates for Indian ports as well

Government needs to rethink fleet expansion strategy

The Drewry World Container Index (WCI) increased 2 per cent to $4,801 per 40ft container this week and increased 202 per cent when compared with the same week last year

Indian companies paid freight costs of $85 billion in the financial year 2019/20, of which $75 billion was paid for use of foreign vessels

Jaipur, Ahmedabad see largest declines

The growth was mainly fuelled by coal and iron ore, traditionally the mainstay of the railways' freight portfolio

Road transport is estimated to account for over 70 per cent of domestic freight demand

Shipments are currently delayed by about three weeks, CEO Bjorn Gulden said, and that is causing some delivery issues, especially to Europe

The Indian Railways achieved freight loading of 758.2 MT between April and September as against the 736.68 MT recorded in the corresponding period last year, which is an improvement of 21.52 MT. "Railways have earned Rs 81,697 crore against Rs 78,991 crore over the last year, which is an improvement of approximately Rs 2,706 crore as compared to the same period of the last year," the railway ministry said in a statement. "During the month of September 2023, originating freight loading of 123.53 MT has been achieved against loading of 115.8 MT in September 2022, which is an improvement of approximately 6.67 per cent over the last year," it added. The increase in freight loading has translated into an increase in the railways' revenue as it achieved freight revenue of Rs 12,956.95 crore in September 2023 as against the Rs 12,332.7 crore freight earnings in September 2022, thereby showing an improvement of about 5.06 per cent. "Indian Railways achieved loading of 59.7 MT in coal, 14.2

New rates to ply for 6 months to test market appetite

Proposal aimed to ease pressure on rail network, improve coal dispatch during peak demand summer months

The commercial vehicle industry volume is expected to grow in the range of 7-10 per cent in the next financial year, rating agency Icra said on Tuesday. The volume growth would be on account of government infrastructure spending, replacement demand, back-to-school and office scenarios and e-commerce expansion, it noted. The growth will, however, moderate from 24-26 per cent in the current financial year, it added. Icra noted that the growth trends were visible in third quarter of the current fiscal, with wholesale dispatches reporting a growth of 16 per cent on a year-on-year basis, supported by replacement demand, improvement in the macroeconomic environment, and healthy traction in the underlying industries such as steel, cement, mining, automobiles, and e-commerce. Freight rates continued to hold up, which, coupled with healthy freight availability, is supporting fleet operator viability, it noted. The growth trends continued to be broad-based across all the three sub-segments

Zonal Railways asked to designate more works as special projects for quicker clearance

Officials peg FY23 freight between 1500-1550 mt

However, average container prices are still 2-3 times higher compared to pre-pandemic levels