‘Belly & freighter capacity impacted, delays in cargo movement’

Currently, due to the unpredictable weather conditions in Europe and U.S., both belly and freighter capacity is getting impacted, it is also causing massive flight cancellations and delays in cargo movement,” said Satish Lakkaraju, CEO, NexGen Logistics, Garudavega. He added, “Recent fires at the U.S. (Los Angeles) have also created apprehensions in the minds of the Indian exporters and importers. Dollar rates rising to 86 is a good sign for Indian exporters but a cause of concern for importers. In the coming years, the U.S. dollar to Indian rupee exchange will continue to be volatile given the fact that India continues to import crude oil and that is another important aspect from a cargo standpoint. Fuel surcharge is one of the important aspects for arriving at the freight rates. In the express industry, the freight rates change on a weekly to a monthly basis. But, in the cargo industry, the freight rates from the airlines change on monthly basis. So that’s one volatile factor that also determines the prices for the air freight when you may have a base rate on it. 18 per cent GST on air freight is another concern for industry, impacting businesses. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is still impacting the global supply chains. To avoid the war zones, the traders are taking longer routes which basically means longer transit times both the air and ocean.”