Truck rates from Mumbai to most of the northern states firmed up because of shortage of vehicles. Movement of large quantities of vegetables such as onion and tomatoes from Nashik to northern states like Bihar, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh caused the shortage of vehicles, a transporter said.

"The demand of vehicles have gone up so much that some transporters have even started diverting their south-bound vehicles to the northern states", he said. The shortage of vehicles may continue for at least a week more. In the last week, the rates to Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh remained stable. Rates to Srinagar were at Rs 25,800 while rates to Shimla were up marginally by Rs 100 at Rs 17,600.

Mumbai to Delhi rates shot up by Rs 500 to Rs 15,000. Consequently, rates to Punjab and Haryana also went up by Rs 200-Rs 500 range. Rates to some places in Biharcontinued to rise due to shortage of vehicles caused on the back of heavy cargo movement. The rates to remaining places remained firm. Freight rates to Hazari Bagh were up by Rs 300 at Rs 18,300 but rates to Patna were steady at Rs 19,500. Rates to Lucknow were at Rs 18,000 while rates to Varanasi stood at Rs 18,500. Mumbai to Meerut rates were stable at Rs 16,200.

After remaining steady for almost a month, the rates t Gujarat went up slightly. Truck ratest to Surat were up by Rs 200 to Rs 3,400 while rates to Kandla were marginally up by Rs 200 to Rs 5,600.

In the western region, the rates to Madhya Pradesh were again up due to heavy rains. Freight rates to Satna and Indore were at Rs 13,500 and Rs 6,100, respectively.

Rates to Maharashtra moved up. Rates to Nashik were up by Rs 400 to Rs 4,400 while rates to Nagpur remained same at Rs 7,000. Rates to the entire eastern region were almost steady. Truck rates to Guwahati were up by Rs 300 at Rs 36,300 while rates to Calcutta were at Rs 20,300.

Therates to south also largely remained stable. Rates to Hyderabad and Bangalore were at Rs 6,000 and Rs 9,000, respectively. Truck rates to Bangalore were stable at Rs 9,000 while rates to Chennai were remained at Rs 13,000. Rates to Cochin were at Rs 14,000.