Truck rentals have come down by as much as 3-4% as unseasonal rains wreak havoc on crops in northern and western parts of the country.
Industry body Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT) said in a report that there was a decline in demand for transportation of fruit and vegetables.
The setback for truckers comes at a time when they were banking on agriculture to make up for depressed mining and manufacturing
activity.
While freight rates had increased by 4.5-5.5% after a hike of Rs 3.09 p/litre in diesel prices on March 1, non-availability of cargo, especially from the agricultural sector, has forced fleet operators to scale back freight rates.
Sanjay Singh, senior fellow and coordinator, IFTRT, said truck owners had bought new vehicles in anticipation of an increase in demand for
transportation of cargo across the country, but the unexpected rains have put paid to their plans.
“Supply of fruit and vegetables to APMCs has decreased by 15-20% and there has been no compensatory load from any sector, especially mining and manufacturing. Trucks across the country are lying idle for 2-3 days,” said Singh.
Truck owners had increased the size of their fleets, in the hope that agricultural produce would grow in the coming months and a recovery in the availability of freight from the manufacturing and mining sector was seen round the corner.
Capacity utilisation of truck fleets has dipped below 60% as trucks remain idle due to want of cargo.
According to Navin Kumar Gupta, secretary general of All-India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), truck rentals have decreased significantly in March and, as result, small fleet operators have taken a hit.
“Operating cost for truck operators has increased due to high tyre prices, which have not come down despite a steep decrease in international rubber prices and there has been an increase in cost of spare parts, along with a 20% hike in third-party premiums and toll taxes. These developments have had a negative impact on our profitability,” said Gupta.