Due to the Red Sea crisis there has been a significant shift in cargo from ship to air. Logistics cost and time has been a major deciding factor behind this shift in modes of logistics. Another major shifting pattern noticed particularly in India is from air to road. Post COVID, the volumes moving by air have been slowing down and this to a certain extent can be attributed to the improving quality of Indian highways and expressways, says Mark Sutch, IndiGo’s Chief Commercial Officer for Cargo.
In FY23, Statista reported that in domestic sector, airlines carried about 698 thousand metric tonnes of cargo in India, marking an increase from the previous year. Domestic air cargo overall, however, is projected to grow further. The India road freight transport market is projected to be valued at US $140.26 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach US $236.29 billion by 2030. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.08% during the forecast period from 2024 to 2030, reports Mordor Intelligence. With the ongoing development of road infrastructure, air cargo players are concerned about the future of their domestic throughput.