New Index Reveals Decline in Indian Railway Freight Optimism

Dun & Bradstreet and Jupiter Wagons have launched the Indian Railway Freight Activity (IRFA) Index to analyze the country's railway freight dynamics. The quarterly report reveals a decline in optimism for Q2 2024, highlighting concerns over higher freight costs and global supply chain challenges.

Dun & Bradstreet, a global leader in business decisioning data and analytics, and Jupiter Wagons have unveiled the Indian Railway Freight Activity (IRFA) Index. This index aims to offer an in-depth analysis of India's railway freight sector amid government efforts to boost railway freight modal share.

The IRFA index, published quarterly, consists of two sub-indices: the Freight Activity Experience sub-index for the current quarter and the Freight Activity Optimism sub-index for the upcoming quarter. It is generated based on surveys of railway freight users from the five major railway zones in the country. The index ranges from 0 to 100, with 50 representing a neutral level of railway freight activity year-on-year.

According to the latest report, the optimism for railway freight activity dropped to 62 in Q2 2024 from 67 in Q1 2024. This decline is attributed to reduced optimism for both domestic and EXIM railway freight activity, higher expected railway freight costs, and ongoing global and domestic supply chain issues. Large firms showed a significant decrease in optimism, whereas medium and small firms reported an increase. Furthermore, the demand for wagons and containers rose for medium and small firms, but large firms faced challenges with labor and machinery availability.