"The rates will mainly fluctuate on the availability of trucks. With elections round-the-corner, the political parties will engage trucks for electioneering which might create shortage of the vehicles, consequently a raise in the rates", a transporter said. After easing of tension on the Indo-Pak border, the truck rates on the border states decreased for the first time since 2-3 months. The rates to Jammu fell substantially to Rs 23,800 from Rs 27,500. The rates to Srinagar were also down by Rs 4,700 to Rs 25,800.

The rates to Shimla also decreased by Rs 800 to Rs 17,500. The Mumbai to Delhi rates, however, remained steady at Rs 13,000. While rates to Haryana fell by Rs 200-500, the rates to Punjab went up in the same range.

The freight rates to Bihar too dippedsubstantially. The rates to Patna and Tata Jamshedpur were down by Rs 1,700 each to Rs 19,500 and Rs 19,200, respectively. Compared to Bihar, the rates to Uttar Pradesh remained stable except to some cities like Meerut were the rates fell by Rs 300 to Rs 13,200. The rates to Kanpur were steady at Rs 15,000.

In the western region, the rates to most of the places in Gujarat and Maharashtra moved slighty up while rates to a majority of the places in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan moved southward. The Mumbai to Badodara were up by Rs 300 to Rs 4,500. The truck rates to Nagpur were up by Rs 200 to Rs 7,000. The rates to Satna dipped marginally by Rs 100 to Rs 10,600 while rates to Indore rose by Rs 400 to Rs 6,000. The rates to Jaipur were down by Rs 300 to Rs 10,000 while rates to Bharathpur rose by Rs 200 to Rs 12,000.

In the eastern region, the freight rates dipped substantially. The rates to Guwahati fell sharply from Rs 35,500 to Rs 31,000. The truck rates to remaining parts of the state were at Rs 40,000.The rates to Calcutta were down to Rs 19,500 from Rs 20,800. The rates to Cuttack were down by Rs 2,400 to Rs 14,000 while truck ratse to Bhubaneshwar fell to Rs 13,800 from Rs 15,500. The rates in the southern states were stable. The Mumbai to Vizag rates fell marginally by Rs 200 to Rs 12,200. The rates to Bangalore were down by Rs 500 to Rs 8,800. The rates to remaining cities in Karnataka remained stable. The rates to rest of the southern states (Tamil Nadu and Kerala) were steady.