Writing in one of the recent issues of Air Cargo News, veteran journalist and an ace on transportation topics Tirthankar Ghosh observed that the freight forwarding industry in India had been stirred up by the sharp fall in global crude oil prices by nearly 35 percent over the past one year. As such the Express Industry Council of India (EICI), the apex body of express delivery service providers in India, has demanded the immediate withdrawal of Fuel Surcharge (FSC) levied by domestic airlines, he added. Other than the forwarders, it is the express industry that uses airlines.
Despite the oddities of such nature, there have been providers of heavy cargo transportation services in India that have risen to the occasion. Some of them like the New Delhi-based Air Shagoon have been rendering charter services in airlifting the cargo to the destination. Of course, this company is not merely forwarding and clearing agency but one that offers varied services in the segment of transport and also travel and tourism.
As for the other modes of surface transportation (road, rail and sea), G Vaidyanathan of JNPT at Nhava Sheva had conducted an extensive research. Covering all the three, it projected a forecast for India till 2015. Featured in the PIANC Magazine published by The World Association of Transport Infrastructure, his report had analysed the traffic growth and also the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) effect on surface transport.
On this aspect of SWOT, the company named above has versatile expertise in both surface and air transportation systems including hazardous goods and high valued precision machinery and systems. With numerous nationwide infrastructure projects underway, heavy equipment freight services in India will be a great challenge. And on their part, both large and medium companies are eager to meet this on a note of success.
