v Sajeev Kumar

Freight forwarders in Kerala are seeking a hike in vehicle rentals on the back of rising fuel prices, suggesting that traders or customers pay a diesel surcharge of about 20 per cent to help ease the burden.

With diesel prices spiralling by more than ₹15 per litre in the past three months, container trailer and truck operators, tipper lorry owners and others have urged the government to work out a permanent solution to help them tide over the crisis.

Lorry Owners’ Federation representative Shaju Almana said it would be difficult to implement a rental hike locally. Instead, the government should take the lead and form a committee to ensure a minimum rental for owners during a crisis.

There are around 17,000 national permit trucks plying in Kerala and around 5,000 lorries on inter-district services.

The intermittent hike in fuel prices and the delay in the revision of rental charges have put owners in a bind. Many cannot repay loans taken for buying vehicles. The decline in business and reduction in trips have added to their woes, Almana said.

Tough bargaining by traders has also forced vehicle operators to run much below quoted rates.

Diesel costs account for over 60 per cent of the operating expenses of a vehicle, said Tony Thomas, secretary, Cochin Container Carrier Owners’ Welfare Association. The hike also had a cascading effect of 20-30 per cent increase in spare parts, components, tyre and maintenance costs due to the steep increase in steel and rubber prices.

The overall cost has increased by ₹1,000 to ₹5,000 per trip because of the increase in input costs. The current freight rate has become unviable for members of the Cochin Container Carrier Owners Welfare Association. “A minimum 20 per cent increase on the existing freight rate is needed for the survival of the trade,” he said.

The container trailer operators last hiked rates in 2016 when the diesel price was hovering around ₹60-70 per litre, he added. Diesel is now priced at ₹86 per litre.

A meeting of lorry owners and trailer operators in Kochi recently sought a 20 per cent hike in transportation charges and rents as diesel surcharge. This, they said, was crucial for maintaining the sustainability of fleet operations and to keep enough vehicles on the road.

A uniform hike in rent with the support of all members would be hard to implement, a trailer business operator said. “Many operators with single vehicles under-quote each other to get more business. They may not fall in line with the majority,” he said.

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