Following a sharp hike in fuel price post Karnataka elections, the truck rentals on medium in long haulage trade routes increased by 5.5% in last two weeks of May as against 5% drop in April 2018. Despite a Rs 3/litre cumulative daily diesel price hike post Karnataka polls during second half of May 2018, the truck rentals having been flat during May 1 to 15. It began to rise in the last two weeks of last month leading to a 5.5% rise in truck rentals on medium and long haulage trade routes, said Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT), the apex body tracking the truck industry for decades, in a press release here on Friday.
On one hand, truck fleet owners and transporters have been threatening nationwide indefinite strike (chakka jam) to protest against diesel price hikes, uptick in tyre prices and third party motor insurance premium, but on the other hand, despite low cargo growth from various sectors during May 2018, the truck rentals on medium and long haulage on truck routes have gone up by 5.5%, citing hefty daily cumulative diesel price hike of over Rs 3/litre by OMCs on the back of steep increase in international brent crude price to $78/bbl during May 2018, IFTRT pointed out.
Simultaneously, truck fleet owners and transporters are heavily focused on to replacing and expanding their truck fleet with fuel efficient BS-IV multi-axle rigid body trucks and trailers in order to average out their running cost to meet the medium-term challenge posed by diesel price escalation due to international uncertainties and weakening rupee against dollar currency.
With e-way bill under GST system on intra-state and inter-state movement of cargo becoming a reality, the digital transit pass system made tax-evasion difficult with every passing day. Following which, the formal sector businesses/factories/distributors are seeking truck fleet attached to their production and delivery points across the country on a contractual basis with specific age, size and body fabrication of goods carriages.
According to IFTRT, the demand for BS-IV fuel efficient multi-axle trucks and trailers with covered body and/or containers as cargo deck are being procured by fleet owners leading to substantially higher demand for new trucks on the back of deep discounts and 100% funding with low EMI being offered to fleet owners in the country.
