Transport Companies in India: 2026 Sector Data and Sourcing Guide

The transport sector in India

OneFirmIntel lists 1,926,237 active transport companies in India: 1,025,797 Established firms (★★), 900,372 newer Active firms (★), and 68 Listed companies (★★★), with 14,631 inactive records on file. The near-even split between Established and newer Active firms reflects a sector with a deep base of traditional road-freight and fleet operators, alongside a fast-growing layer of logistics, warehousing and last-mile entrants tied to e-commerce.

The policy backdrop is one of falling costs and heavy investment. India's logistics cost fell to 7.97 percent of GDP in 2023-24, down from 8.84 percent the year before, according to a joint DPIIT and NCAER study cited in the Economic Survey, moving toward global benchmarks of around 8 percent. The World Bank's Logistics Performance Index in 2023 ranked India 38th out of 139 countries, up six places from 2018 and sixteen places from 2014. Estimates of the overall market size vary widely by methodology, from roughly US$230 billion to over US$400 billion, so we treat the headline figure as a range rather than a single number.

Trade context: infrastructure, policy and recent news

Two flagship programmes anchor the sector. The National Logistics Policy, launched in September 2022, targets lower logistics costs and better service quality. PM Gati Shakti, the national master plan for multi-modal connectivity launched in October 2021, is a GIS-based platform integrating infrastructure planning across ministries; by 2024-25, 57 central ministries and departments had been onboarded and the Network Planning Group had evaluated projects worth around Rs 13.59 lakh crore.

On hard infrastructure, the Dedicated Freight Corridors built by DFCCIL, the Eastern corridor of about 1,337 km and the Western corridor of about 1,506 km, are reshaping rail freight, with the Western corridor nearing completion in 2024-25. The national highway network expanded from 91,287 km in 2014 to roughly 146,000 km, and the Bharatmala programme has completed around 20,770 km of awarded highway projects. A notable recent development is the e-truck incentive scheme launched in July 2025 under PM E-DRIVE, offering support of up to about Rs 9.6 lakh per electric medium or heavy-duty truck, India's first such scheme, though electric-truck volumes remain very small for now.

Clusters and sub-sectors

Logistics activity concentrates around major ports and consumption centres. Jawaharlal Nehru Port near Mumbai is India's largest container port, Mundra in Gujarat is the largest by total cargo, and Chennai anchors the east coast. Warehousing and inland container depot clusters have grown around the National Capital Region, the Mumbai and JNPT hinterland, Ludhiana and Chennai. You can browse the registered base through the India transport company directory.

By sub-segment, road freight remains dominant, carrying the large majority of tonnage, followed by rail freight, which is gaining share thanks to the freight corridors, ports and shipping, and a fast-growing warehousing and third-party logistics segment driven by e-commerce, FMCG and pharmaceuticals. Third-party logistics now accounts for a large share of the organised market.

Using the data to source and verify

With nearly two million active transport companies, tiered filtering is essential. Use the Established (★★) tier, over a million firms, when you want carriers and logistics providers with a longer registry history, which matters for contract freight, recurring lanes and liability. Use the Active (★) tier to find newer specialists, for example a regional 3PL or a last-mile startup. The Listed (★★★) tier, 68 companies, captures the larger publicly traded logistics and transport groups with the strongest disclosure.

Register data confirms that an operator exists, where it is based, and how established it is. It does not confirm fleet condition, insurance cover, safety record or service reliability. Treat the directory as a sourcing and verification layer: shortlist, then check GST registration, transport and goods-carriage permits, insurance and references before awarding work. Start in the India transport directory or run a targeted query in company search.

Cross-border and practical notes

Indian transport companies are identified by a CIN for incorporated entities and a GSTIN for tax, and freight movement runs on the GST e-way-bill system, which is a useful cross-check on a carrier's activity. For EXIM logistics, confirm customs-broker licensing and, where relevant, the importer-exporter code of the parties you serve. English is standard in Indian logistics documentation. For the wider market view, see the India company statistics and the broader transport industry overview.