CRISFrex indicates that overall freight rates improved marginally (sub-1%) in July on-month. Freight availability was healthy for agri-products, auto carriers, fast-moving consumer goods/durables (FMCG/FMCD), parcel/loose goods, and textiles. Commodities such as petroleum tankers, steel, cement, mining products (largely coal) and container applications saw slightly lower freight availability but was still better than in June.

In July 2022, ~55% of the combinations saw a sequential improvement in freight rates.

Margin increases 100 basis points

Better freight availability, fuel price cuts in a few states, and marginal improvement in freight rates resulted in an on-month increase in free cash flows (FCF; pre-equated monthly instalment, or EMI) for transporters. The industry’s FCF improved slightly to ~20% in July from ~19% in June