However, the rates to some north and north-eastern states may go up due to natural calamities. "The war like situation in Kargil and the monsoon floods in the north-eastern region are likely to keep the freight rates high in these regions", a transporter said.

In the northern region, the rates to Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh were steady in the last week.

The rates to Delhi dipped by Rs 500 to Rs 12,200. The fall in the Delhi's freight rates had an impact on truck rates to Haryana and Punjab. The rates to these states moved down by Rs 200-500.

The freight rates from Mumbai to Bihar remained high due to shortage of vehicles and heavy monsoon.

The rates to Mumbai to Patna rates went up by Rs 400 to Rs 19,200 while freight rates to Jamshedpur were up by Rs 200 to Rs 16,200.

Rates to Lucknow (in Uttar Pradesh) declined by Rs 500 to Rs 13,000. Those toMeerut and Agra dropped by Rs 400 and Rs 700 each to Rs 12,000 and Rs 11,800 respectively.

The rates to western states remained steady except for Madhya Pradesh. The Mumbai to Jabalpur rates rose by Rs 500 to Rs 9,500 while rates to Raipur were up by Rs 700 to Rs 8,500.

In the eastern sector, the rates to Assam continued to remain high. The rates to Guwahati went up by Rs 500 to Rs 34,000 while truck rates to remaining places in the state remained stable.

The Mumbai to Calcutta rates increased by Rs 1,000 to Rs. 19,700. The rates to Raniganj and Siliguri were up by Rs 500 and Rs 700 to Rs 19,500 and Rs 22,500, respectively.

In South, the truck rates to Karnataka moved up while the rates to the remaining states remained stable.

The rates to Bangalore were up by Rs 300 to Rs 8,500.

The Mumbai to Chennai truck were at Rs 12,500 while rates to Cochin were remained at Rs 13,200.