Air freight forwarders play a crucial role in facilitating global trade. They offer fast and reliable transportation solutions for moving goods across borders. The air freight companies work to ensure seamless operations, connecting businesses and markets across the world. The largest industrial and commercial centers in India, like Chennai export several commodities to the markets abroad. For this reason, there are several air freight forwarders in Chennai.
As the Indian eCommerce economy is booming, the importance of air cargo and the expertise of air freight forwarders will remain imperative to foster international trade and sustain the movement of goods worldwide.
Chennai: A Strategic Location for Air Freight Forwarding
Chennai Port, formerly known as Madras Port, is India’s second-largest container port. It is connected to major locations around the world, including countries in Southeast Asia, The Middle East, and beyond, making it ideal for cargo moving between India and these regions. Moreover, Chennai’s proximity to significant shipping routes enhances its connectivity and accessibility.
Chennai was the place where maritime trade started back in 1639. Today, besides waterborne transport, this cosmopolitan city’s international airport has also established itself as an important hub for air cargo operations.
Chennai International Airport handles an extensive range of cargo and serves as an important center for trade and commerce. As per the data from March 2024, the air cargo traffic here was 33,051 tons.
Chennai is known as the ‘Detroit of India’ due to its thriving automotive industry. Thus, its airport frequently exports automobile components, vehicles, and related products to global markets. Apart from this, the airport handles the transportation of electronics, textiles, and other manufactured goods.
Chennai International Airport’s strategic location makes it a key contributor to shipping goods across borders via air.
6 Players in Chennai’s Air Freight Forwarding Industry
Air freight forwarders enable the rapid movement of goods across borders, making it an essential tool for global trade. These freight forwarders ship goods to customers and suppliers around the world and boost economic growth and foreign exchange.
Are you confused about which air freight service to use to make your shipping more effective? We have reviewed the top 6 air freight forwarders in Chennai that enhance India’s competitiveness on the global stage by reducing logistics costs and lead times:
1. CargoX by Shiprocket
With the expertise of CargoX, one of the leading air freight forwarders, you can manage the movement of your shipments from Chennai to anywhere in the world. The best part about this platform is its competency, which allows businesses to do real-time tracking to ensure their packages are delivered safely and on time.
Partnering with CargoX to send your shipments overseas can help you navigate the complexities involved in air shipping and leverage massive benefits, such as enhanced security, high speed, global reach, less packaging, and minimum space for warehousing.
Some of the significant features CargoX offers include:
- Prompt quotation
- Pickup within 24 hours
- Hassle-free documentation
- Crystal-clear invoicing
- No hidden charges
- Coverage of 100+ countries
- No weight restriction
- Digitised workflows
This B2B air cargo delivery service also makes documentation and customs clearance easy for shippers.
2. Skyline Shipping & Logistics Pvt Ltd
Located in Parrys, Chennai, Skyline Shipping & Logistics Pvt Ltd focuses on air freight shipping. They are recognised for ensuring a positive customer experience by providing prompt delivery.
The company provides seamless air freight services by partnering with key airlines. This helps with faster communications and bookings. It also caters to small shipments and provides Door-to-Door, Door-to-Airport, Airport-to-Airport, and air freight forwarding services.
3. TVS Supply Chain Solutions
With a strict focus on quality and business excellence, TVS Supply Chain Solutions is backed by the latest technology for warehousing, last-mile delivery, air freight, and workforce management. The company connects with customers’ ERP, which provides real-time visibility and transparency in delivery operations.
This shipping carrier is flexible about the scope of its client’s business. Their freight and logistics professionals take a consultative approach to help you determine the best solution for your requirements and optimise your freight movements.
4. Easyway Logistics
Easyway Logistics helps you save money on air shipping by suggesting the most economical routes. With more than a decade of experience, they have built a reputation for excellence in global shipping and customs regulations.
They are a widely recognised shipping carrier in Chennai, having expertise in handling a wide variety of shipments, such as retail garments, temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals, fragile electronic items, atypical dimension shipments, hazardous materials, etc.
5. Tripath Logistics
Another prominent logistics company in Chennai, Tripath Logistics, encompasses project logistics, freight management, and supply chain management. Established in 2014, this shipping company caters to diverse business needs and shipment types.
The platform works diligently with other carriers and operates on all busy world routes.
6. ProConnect Supply Chain
If you want to get the advantage of shipping from all the major airports in India, choose ProConnect Supply Chain. Their relationship with various air carriers makes them an expert in handling air freight and diverse categories of goods.
The company provides multiple services, such as warehousing, transportation, reverse logistics, and third-party logistics (3PL). It also caters to same-day and next-day deliveries from Chennai to anywhere in India, which are essential for many eCommerce platforms in today’s fast-paced market.
Chennai’s Air Cargo Infrastructure: Strengths and Opportunities
Tamil Nadu boasts of having India’s second-largest air cargo traffic, with a total share of more than 25%. Additionally, this state accommodates the highest number of CFSs (Container Freight Stations) and WDRA (Warehouse Development and Regulatory Authority) registered warehouses.
Chennai International Airport is the state’s primary gateway and one of the busiest airports in the country in terms of cargo handling. Established in 1978, it can handle large amounts of cargo. The air cargo traffic in Chennai airport is listed in the table below:
| Area | Annual capacity (Tonnes) | Annual tonnage (Tonnes) |
|---|---|---|
| Export General | 265,000 | 160,000 |
| Import | 277,460 | 130,000 |
| Total | 542,460 | 290,000 |
Chennai’s air cargo infrastructure is improving every year as the city consistently invests in growth and innovation. Plans are underway to construct a new integrated cargo terminal with a capacity of handling 3,000,000+ tonnes annually.
Chennai International Airport has modern cargo terminals equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for efficient handling, storage, and sorting of different types of cargo.
This city’s diligent and specialised freight forwarders and customs clearance agents at the airport further streamline the cargo shipment process. If you are shipping your product by plane from Chennai, you can reap many benefits from it like efficient cargo handling, expedited shipping, and customs clearance without any hassle.
Risk Management Strategies for Air Freight in Chennai
There are certain risks involved in shipping your products to different countries by air. Knowing these difficulties beforehand will help you identify, analyse, and respond to uncertainties that could hinder your business objectives. This will also help you determine how to deal with or minimise those risks.
Risk for Air Freight in Chennai
So, first, let’s discuss all the possible risks you may face when shipping cargo by plane in Chennai:
- Different customs procedures
The documents required for sending goods to different countries are different. This means you need to understand and follow unique paperwork, translations, customs duty payments, and import restrictions. Non-compliance may result in delays in your shipment.
- Exchange rate volatility
The exchange rate of the country’s currency you are sending your shipment to can affect the project’s profitability.
- Overseas partnerships
You cannot rely on all third-party foreign freight handlers, warehouses, and carriers. If they do not meet your expectations, the risks can amplify and delay your shipments.
- Language barriers
Cross-border shipping sometimes has to face communication barriers, especially when the language of the foreign country is unknown. It can make it challenging to coordinate activities effectively.
- International laws and regulations
There may occur frequent changes in the restricted goods list, trade rules, taxes, etc., for each country. Therefore, you must check and track all these aspects before sending your shipment to a specific nation.
- Geopolitical uncertainty
Terrorist attacks, regime changes, political conflicts, and wars can immensely impact transport routes and cause disruptions in the supply chain.
- Labour unrest
Labour unrest, like strikes, can severely disrupt the supply chain. It is because all the links in the chain play a vital role in ensuring the timely and safe delivery of the goods to the destination.
- Cyber risks
With the increasing dependency on IT systems, cyberattacks such as hacked customer data or ransomware attacks have increased over the past few years in the transportation sector.
Risk-balanced Air Freight Strategies
Now, we know all the risks associated with air transportation. The question is how to reduce these risks and minimise their impact. Let’s gain insights into how an optimal risk-balanced air freight strategy should look like:
- Licensing and compliance management
You should closely track all licensing and compliance for facilities, drivers, vehicle fleets, and staff.
- Insurance management
By providing financial protection against the unexpected, you can safeguard your business and all the goods you are shipping. You must also review the insurance every time you send a new shipment.
- Disruption management
Identify critical failure points by mapping response protocols and communication plans with customers and overseas carriers. Based on this, create contingency plans and system redundancies across the supply chain. This will help you maintain continuity when disruptions strike.
- Vendor risk management
Assess risks with contracted service partners using audits, metrics monitoring, and certifications.
- Cyber risk management
Conduct security audits and implement robust IT security controls. Deploy software against cyberattacks, data breaches, and malware attacks.
- Data-driven analytics
Leverage technology, including Generative AI, predictive analysis, or loT for data-led risk forecasting.
- Reliable importer
Rather than dealing with small overseas importers, it is better to stick with trusted multinational customers who import goods only through reliable and secure air freight forwarders.
- Diversification
Reduce your dependency on any single country by geographically diversifying your air shipments.
- Choose an efficient and trustworthy shipping carrier
Picking a safe and reliable air freight forwarder will not only safeguard you against untimely delivery but also help you find exclusive contracts with custom brokers, warehouse operators, etc. They also help you lease warehouse infrastructure to get greater control over cargo integrity and security.
Conclusion
Do you want to swiftly transport shipments to any cross-border destination? Then, make sure you choose an efficient and affordable air freight forwarder, like CargoX. This reliable international logistics solution streamlines the shipping process.
CargoX simplifies the complex logistics process for eCommerce businesses and facilitates quick and secure international cargo shipments. You can take advantage of its expertise in moving bulk cargo. It offers unmatched features such as tailor-made shipping plans, access to 100+ countries, and high SLA compliance to ensure on-time and accurate delivery.
So, why not make your cross-border shipment a breeze with CargoX?
