India Freight And Logistics Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecast (2026 - 2031)

Market Definition

• Agriculture, Fishing, and Forestry (AFF) - This end user industry segment captures the external (outsourced) logistics expenditure incurred by the AFF industry players. The end user players considered are the establishments primarily engaged in growing crops, raising animals, harvesting timber, harvesting fish & other animals from their natural habitats and providing related support activities. Herein, Logistics Service Providers (LSPs) play a crucial role in acquisition, storage, handling, transportation, and distribution activities for the optimal & continuous flow of inputs (seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, equipment, and water) from manufacturers or suppliers to the producers and smooth flow of output (produce, agro-goods) to distributors/ consumers. This includes both termperature controlled and non-temperature controlled logistics, as and when required according to the shelf life of goods being transported or stored.
• Construction - This end user industry segment captures the external (outsourced) logistics expenditure incurred by the construction industry players. The end user players considered are the establishments primarily engaged in constructing, repairing and renovating residential & commercial buildings, infrastructure, engineering works, subdividing and developing land. Logistics Service Providers (LSPs) play a crucial role in increasing profitability of construction projects by maintaing the inventory of raw materials & equipment, time-critical supplies and by providing other value added services for effective project management.
• Courier, Express, and Parcel - The Courier, Express, and Parcel services, often called as CEP Market, refers to the logistics and postal service providers which specialize in moving small goods (parcels/packages). It captures the overall market size (USD) and market volume (number of parcels) of (1) the shipments/parcels/packages which are under 70kgs/ 154lbs weight, (2) Business Customer packages viz. Business-to-Business (B2B) & Business-to-Consumer (B2C) as well as private customer packages (C2C), (3) non-express parcel delivery services (Standard and Deferred) as well as express parcel delivery services (Day-Definite-Express and Time-Definite-Express), (4) domestic as well as international parcels.
• Demographics - To analyse total addressable market demand, population growth & forecasts have been studied and presented in this industry trend. It represents population distribution across categories like gender (male/female), development area (urban/rural), major cities among other key parameters like population density and final consumption expenditure (growth and share % of GDP). This data has been used for assessing the fluctations in demand & consumption expenditure, and the major hotspots (cities) of potential demand.
• Export Trends and Import Trends - Overall logistics performance of an economy is positively and significantly (statistically) correlated to its trade performance (exports and imports). Hence, in this industry trend, total value of trade, major commodities/ commodity groups and the major trade partners, for the studied geography (country or region as per the scope of report) have been analysed alongside the impact of major trade/logistics infrastructure investments & regulatory environment.
• Freight Forwarding - Freight forwarding which herein refers to the freight transportation arrangement (FTA) industry includes establishments primarily engaged in arranging & tracking transportation of freight between shippers and carriers. Logistics Service Providers (LSPs) considered are freight forwarders, NVOCCs, custom brokers and marine shipping agents. Others segment under Freight Forwarding captures the revenue earned through value added services of FTA like custom brokerage/clearance activities, preparation of freight related documentation, consolidation-deconsolidation of goods, cargo insurance & compliance, arrangement of warehousing & storage, liasing with shippers, and freight forwarding through other modes of transport viz. road and rail.
• Freight Pricing Trends - Freight pricing by mode of transport (USD/tonkm), over the review period, has been presented in this industry trend. The data has been used in assessing the inflationary environment, impact on trade, freight turnover (tonkm), freight and logistics market demand by mode of transport segments and hence the overall freight and logistics market size.
• Freight Tonnage Trends - Freight tonnage (weight of goods in tons) handled by mode of transport, over the review period, has been presented in this industry trend. The data has been used as one of the parameters apart from average distance per shipment (km), freight volume (tonkm), and freight pricing (USD/tonkm) to assess the freight transport market size.
• Freight Transport - Freight Transport refers to the hiring of a logistics service provider (outsourced logistics) for the transport of commodities (raw materials/final/intermediate/finished goods including both solids and fluids) from the origin to a destination within the country (domestic) or cross-border (international).
• Freight and Logistics - External expenditure on (or outsourced) facilitation of freight transport (freight transportation), arrangement of freight transport through an agent (freight forwarding), warehousing and storage (temperature controlled or non-temperature controlled), CEP (domestic or international courier, express and parcel) and other value-added logistics services involved in the transportation of commodities (raw materials or finished goods including both solids and fluids) from the origin to a destination within the country (domestic) or cross-border (international), through one or more modes of transportation viz. road, rail, sea, air and pipelines constitute freight and logistics market.
• Fuel Price - Fuel price spikes can cause delays and diruption for logistics service providers (LSPs), while drops in the same can result in higher short-term profitability and increased market rivalry to offer consumers with the best deals. Hence, the fuel price variations have been studied over the review period and presented along with the causes as well as market impacts.
• GDP Distribution by Economic Activity - Nominal Gross Domestic Product and distribution of the same, across major economic sectors in the geography studied (country or region as per scope of the report) have been studied and presented in this industry trend. As GDP is positively related to the profitability and growth of logistics industry, this data has been used in adjunction to the input-output tables/ supply-use tables for analyzing the potential major contributing sectors towards the logistics demand.
• GDP Growth by Economic Activity - Growth of Nominal Gross Domestic Product across major economic sectors, for the geography studied (country or region as per scope of the report) have been presented in this industry trend. This data has been utilized for assessing the growth of logistics demand from all the market end users (economic sectors considered here).
• Inflation - Variations in both Wholesale Price Inflation (YoY change in producer price index) and Consumer Price Inflation have been presented in this industry trend. This data has been used to assess the inflationary environment as it plays a vital role in smooth functioning of the supply chain, directly impacting the logistics operational cost components e.g., pricing of tyres, driver wages & benefits, energy/fuel prices, maintenace costs, toll charges, warehousing rents, custom brokerage, forwarding rates, courier rates etc. hence impacting the overall freight and logistics market.
• Infrastructure - As infrastructure plays a vital role in an economy's logistics performance, variables like length of roads, distribution of road length by surface category (paved v/s unpaved), distribution of road length by road classification (expressways v/s highways v/s other roads), rail length, volume of containers handled by major ports and tonnage handled by major airports have been analysed and presented in this industry trend.
• Key Industry Trends - The report section named "Key Industry Trends" include all the key variables/parameters studied to better analyze the market size estimates and forecasts. All the trends have been presented in the form of data points (time series or latest available data points) along with analysis of the paramter in the form of concise market relevant commentary, for the geography studied (country or region as per the scope of report).
• Key Strategic Moves - The action taken by a company to differentiate from its competitor or used as a general strategy is referred to as a key strategic move (KSM). This includes (1) Agreements (2) Expansions (3) Financial Restructuring (4) Mergers and Acquisitions (5) Partnerships, and (6) Product Innovations. Key players (Logistics Service Providers, LSPs) in the market have been shortlisted, their KSM have been studied and presented in this section.
• Liner Shipping Bilateral Connectivity Index - It indicates a country pair's integration level into global liner shipping networks and plays a crucial role in determining bilateral trade, which in turn potentially contributes toward the prosperity of a country and its surrounding region. Hence the major economies connected to the country/ region as per scope of the report, have been analyzed and presented in "Liner Shipping Connectivity" industry trend.
• Liner Shipping Connectivity - This industry trend analyses the state of connectivity to the global shipping networks based on the status of maritime transport sector. It includes the analysis of liner shipping connectivity, bilateral shipping connectivity, and port liner shipping connectivity indices for the geography (country/ region as per scope of the report) over the review period.
• Liner Shipping Connectivity Index - It indicates how well countries are connected to global shipping networks based on the status of their maritime transport sector. It is based on five components of the maritime transport sector: (1) The number of shipping lines servicing a country, (2) The size of the largest vessel used on these services (in TEUs), (3) The number of services connecting a country to the other countries, (4) The total number of vessels deployed in a country, (5) The total capacity of those vessels (in TEUs).
• Logistics Performance - Logistics Performance and Logistics Costs are the backbone of trade, and influences trade costs, making countries compete globally. Logistics performance is influenced by market wide adopted supply chain management strategies, government services, investments & policies, fuel/ energy costs, inflationary environment etc. Hence, in this industry trend, the logistics performance of the geography studied (country/ region as per the scope of report) has been analysed and presented over the review period.
• Major Truck Suppliers - Market share of truck brands is influenced by factors like geographical preferences, portfolio of truck types, truck prices, local production, truck repair & maintenance service peneteration, customer support, technological innovations (like electric vehicles, digitalization, autonomous trucks), fuel efficiency, financing options, annual maintenance costs, availability of substitutes, marketing startegies etc. Hence, the distribution (share % for base year of the study) of truck sales volume for leading truck brands and commentary on current market scenario & market anticipation over the forecast period have been presented in this industry trend.
• Manufacturing - This end user industry segment captures the external (outsourced) logistics expenditure incurred by the Manufacturing industry players. The end user players considered are the establishments primarily engaged in the chemical, mechanical or physical transformation of materials or substances into new products. Logistics Service Providers (LSPs) play a crucial role in maintaining a smooth flow of raw materials across the supply chain, enabling timely delivery of finished goods to distributors or end customers and storing & supplying the raw materials to clients for just-in-time manufacturing.
• Maritime Fleet Load Carrying Capacity - Maritime fleet load carrying capacity depicts the development state of an economy's maritime infrastructure & trade. It is influenced by factors like volume of production, international trade, major end user industries, maritime connectivity, environmental regulations, investments in port infrastructure development, port container cargo handling capacity etc. This industry trend represents the maritime fleet load carrying capacity by type of ship viz. container ships, oil tankers, bulk carriers, general cargo, among other types alongwith the influencing factors for the geography studied (country/ region as per scope of the report), over the review period.
• Modal Share - Freight Modal Share is influenced by factors like modal productivity, government regulations, containerization, distance of shipment, temperature control requirements, type of goods, international trade, terrain, speed of delivery, shipment weight, bulk shipments, etc. Also, modal share by tonnage (tons) and modal share by freight turnover (ton-km) differ as per average distance of shipments, weight of major commodity groups transported in the economy and number of trips. This industry trend represents the distribution of freight transported by mode of transport (tons as well as ton-km), for the study base year.
• Oil and Gas, Mining and Quarrying - This end user industry segment captures the external (outsourced) logistics expenditure incurred by the extraction industry players. The end user players considered are the establishments that extract naturally occurring mineral solids, such as coal and ores; liquid minerals, such as crude petroleum; and gases, such as natural gas. Logistics Service Providers (LSPs) covers entire phases from upstream to downstream and plays a crucial role in the transportation of machinery, drilling equipments, extracted minerals, crude oil & natural gas and refined/ processed products from one place to another.
• Other End Users - Other end user segment captures the external (outsourced) logistics expenditure incurred by the financial services (BFSI), real estate, educational services, healthcare, and professional services (administrative, waste management, legal, architectural, engineering, design, consulting, scientific R&D). Logistics Service Providers (LSPs) plays a crucial role in the reliable movement of supplies and documents to/from these industries such as transporting any equipment or resources required, shipping confidential documents and files, movement of medical goods & supplies (surgical supplies and instruments, including gloves, masks, syringes, equipment) to name a few.
• Other Services - Other Services segment captures revenue earned through (1) Value added services (VAS) for freight transportation by road, rail, air and sea & inland waterways, (2) VAS for marine cargo transportation (operation of terminal facilities such as harbours and piers, operation of waterway locks, navigation, pilotage and berthing activities, lighterage, salvage activities, lighthouse activities, among other miscellaneous support activities), (3) VAS for land freight transportation (operation of terminal facilities such as railway stations, stations for the handling of goods, operation of railroad infrastructure, switching and shunting, towing and road side assistance, liquefaction of gas for transportation purposes, among other miscellaneous support activities), (4) VAS for air cargo transportation (operation of terminal facilities such as airway terminals, airport and air-traffic-control activities, ground service activities on airfields, runway maintenance, inspection/ ferrying/ maintenance/ testing of aircrafts, aircraft fuelling services, among other miscellaneous support activities), (5) VAS for warehousing and storage service (operation of grain silos, general merchandise warehouses, refrigerated warehouses, storage tanks etc., storage of goods in foreign trade zones, blast freezing, crating goods for shipping, packing and preparing goods for shipping, labelling and/or imprinting the package, kit assembling and packaging services, among other miscellaneous support activities), and (6) VAS for courier, express and parcel service (pickup, sorting).
• Port Calls and Performance - The performance of ports is key to an economy's freight movement, trade, global connectivity, successful growth strategies, investment attractiveness for production & distribution systems, and thus affects GDP, employment, per capita income and industrial growth. Hence, the port perfomance parameters like median time spent by vessels in the ports; average age, size, cargo carrying capacity, container carrying capacity, of vessels entering the ports, port calls, and container port throughput have been analysed and presented in this industry trend.
• Port Liner Shipping Connectivity Index - It reflects a port's position in the global liner shipping network, wherein a higher value of index is associated with better connectivity. Efficient and well-connected ports (1) contribute towards minimizing transport costs, linking supply chains and supporting international trade, (2) pave the way for economies of scale and development of expertise by permitting producers to better exploit possibilities in domestic as well as foreign markets. Hence the major ports of strategic importance, in the country/ region as per scope of the report, have been analyzed and presented in "Liner Shipping Connectivity" industry trend.
• Port Throughput - It reflects the amount of cargo or number of vessels a port handles annually. It can be related to (1) cargo tonnage, (2) container TEU, and (3) vessel calls. Port throughput in terms of total containers handled (TEU's), has been presented in the "Port Calls and Performance" industry trend.
• Producer Price Inflation - It indicates inflation from viewpoint of the producers viz. the average selling price received for their output over a period of time. Annual change (YoY) of producer price index is reported as wholesale price inflation in the "Inflation" industry trend. As WPI captures dynamic price movements in most comprehensive way, it is widely used by governments, banks, industry, business circles and is deemed important in formulation of trade, fiscal and other economic policies. The data has been used in adjunction to consumer price inflation for better understanding the inflationary environment.
• Segmental Revenue - Segmental Revenue has been triangulated or computed and presented for all the major players in the market. It refers to the freight and logistics market specific revenue earned by the company, over the base year of study, in the geography studied (country or region as per the scope of report). It is computed through the study and analysis of major parameters like financials, service portfolio, employee strength, fleet size, investments, number of countries present in, major economies of concern, etc. that have been reported by the company in its annual reports, webpage. For companies having scarce financial disclosures, paid databases like D&B Hoovers, Dow Jones Factiva have been resorted to and verified through industry/expert interactions.
• Transport and Storage Sector GDP - Value and growth of Transport and Storage Sector GDP has a direct relation to the freight and logistics market size. Hence, this variable has been studied and presented over the review period, in value terms (USD) and as share % of total GDP, in this industry trend. The data has been supported by concise and relevant commentary around the investments, developments, and current market scenario.
• Trends in E-Commerce Industry - Enhanced internet connectivity and boom in smartphone penetration, coupled with increasing disposable incomes, has led to a phenomenal growth in the e-commerce market globally. Online shoppers require fast and efficient delivery of their orders leading to an increase in the demand for logistics services especially e-commerce fulfilment services. Hence, the Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), historial and projected growth, breakup of major commodity groups in e-commerce industry for the studied geography (country or region as per scope of the report) have been analysed and presented in this industry trend.
• Trends in Manufacturing Industry - Manufacturing industry involves the transformation of raw materials into finished products, while logistics industry ensures the efficient flow of raw materials to the factory, and the transport of manufactured products to the distributors & consumers. Demand-Supply of both industries are highly cross-linked and critical for a seamless supply chain. Hence, the Gross Value Added (GVA), breakup of GVA into major manufacturing sectors, and growth of manufacturing industry over the review period have been analysed and presented, in this industry trend.
• Trucking Fleet Size By Type - Market share of truck types is influenced by factors like geographical preferences, major end user industries, truck prices, local production, truck repair & maintenance service peneteration, customer support, technological disruptions (like electric vehicles, digitalization, autonomous trucks) etc. Hence, the distribution (share % for base year of study) of truck parc volume by type of truck, market disruptors, truck manufacturing investments, truck specifications, truck use & import regulations, and market anticipation over the forecast period have been presented in this industry trend.
• Trucking Operational Costs - The prime reasons for measuring/ benchmarking logistics performance of any trucking company are to reduce operational costs and increase profitability. On the other hand, measuring operational costs helps to identify whether and where to make operational changes to control expenses and identify areas for improved performance. Hence, in this industry trend, trucking operational costs and the variables involved viz. driver wages & benefits, fuel prices, repairs & maintenance costs, tyre costs etc. have been studied over the base year of study, and presented for the geography studied (country or region as per the scope of report).
• Warehousing and Storage - Warehousing and storage segment captures revenue earned through the operation of general merchandise, refrigerated and other types of warehousing & storage facilities. These establishments take responsibility for storing the goods and keeping them secure in lieu of charges. Value added services (VAS) they may provide are considered to be a part of the "other services" segment. Here VAS refer to a range of services, related to the distribution of a customer's goods and can include labelling, breaking bulk, inventory control & management, light assembly, order entry & fulfillment, packaging, pick & pack, price marking & ticketing and transportation arrangement.
• Wholesale and Retail Trade - This end user industry segment captures the external (outsourced) logistics expenditure incurred by the wholesalers and retailers. The end user players considered are the establishments primarily engaged in wholesaling or retailing merchandise, generally without transformation, and rendering services incidental to the sale of merchandise. Logistics Service Providers (LSPs) plays a crucial role in the reliable movement of supplies to and finished products from production houses to the distributors and finally to the end customer covering activites like material sourcing, transportation, order fulfillment, warehousing & storage, demand forecasting, inventory management etc.

Research Methodology

Mordor Intelligence follows a four-step methodology in all our reports.

• Step-1: Identify Key Variables: In order to build a robust forecasting methodology, the variables and factors identified in Step-1 are tested against available historical market numbers. Through an iterative process, the variables required for market forecast are set and the model is built on the basis of these variables.
• Step-2: Build a Market Model: Market-size estimations for the forecast years are in nominal terms. Inflation is not a part of the pricing, and the average selling price (ASP) is kept constant throughout the forecast period for each country.
• Step-3: Validate and Finalize: In this important step, all market numbers, variables and analyst calls are validated through an extensive network of primary research experts from the market studied. The respondents are selected across levels and functions to generate a holistic picture of the market studied.
• Step-4: Research Outputs: Syndicated Reports, Custom Consulting Assignments, Databases & Subscription Platforms