Last week, the freight rates to most of the states dropped by Rs 200 to 1,000, except for a few states. The fall in the rates was basically engineered by a decrease in the cargo movement as the new financial year began and corporates stopped moving their products. The truck rates to Jammu and Kashmir dropped by Rs 500 to 700 while rates to Himachal Pradesh and Delhi remained same. However, rates to Haryana and Punjab decreased by Rs 500 each.

The freight rates to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh witnessed a Rs 300 to Rs 1,000 fall. The rates to Patna dropped by Rs 1,000 to Rs 20,000, a fall of 3,000 over a fortnight. The rates to Muzaffarpur, a city well-known as a hub of carpet weavers, were Rs 18,200, a fall of Rs 300. The rates to Lucknow decreased by Rs 500 to Rs 15,500 whilerates to Agra fell by Rs 700 to Rs 13,300. In the western sector, the freight rates to Gujarat and Maharashtra remained more or less static. The rates to Patna in Madhya Pradesh fell by Rs 1,000 to Rs 12,000 while truck rates to Indore decreased by Rs 500 to Rs 6,000. The rates to Jaipur went up by Rs 500 to Rs 10,500 due to shortage of vehicles. Interestingly, the rates to remaining cities of Rajasthan remained steady.

In the eastern region, the freight rates to Assam remained same except for Guwahati to which rates decreased by Rs 1,000 to Rs 37,000. The freight rates to Calcutta dropped from Rs 23,000 to Rs 21,500. The rates to Orissa too decreased in the region of Rs 500.

In south, rates to Andhra Pradesh plunged in the range of Rs 300 to 500. The rates to Vizag was Rs 12,500, registering a fall of Rs 500. The truck rates to Bangalore, the silicon valley of India, dipped by Rs 1,000 to Rs 9,000 although rates to remaining cities of Karnataka remained steady.

The freight rates to Chennai was Rs13,500, an increase of Rs 500 while rates to Cochin remained same at Rs 14,000.