Heading into Diwali, truck operators finally have something to cheer about, and that too, after 20 long months. Freight rates and demand for vehicles have risen consistently in the last 30 days on the back of increased economic activity and festival demand.

Truck rentals for medium and long haulage rose by 10-12 per cent during October, said SP Singh, Senior Fellow & Coordinator, Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training.

For instance, rental for a 28-tonne vehicle in the Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi route on November 1 was ₹1.32 lakh against ₹1.20 lakh a month earlier. Similarly, in the Delhi-Chennai-Delhi route, the rental increased to ₹1.46 lakh from ₹1.33 lakh.

E-way bills on the rise

Freight rates apart, fleet utilisation has also jumped. It was as high as 80-85 per cent on various trunk routes. Strong consumer demand and a 25 per cent increase in despatches from factory gates have led to a double-digit demand for goods carriers in the 7.5-55 tonne categories, Singh added. Not surprising that e-way bills have registered a strong increase. In May, when the second Covid wave peaked, 9 crore e-way bills were generated. In October, it had risen to 15 crore.

What has brought relief to the operators is that the demand has crossed the threshold where they can pass on increase in diesel and other costs to customers. For instance, in October, diesel prices rose by ₹7.55 per litre. They were able to comfortably pass on the entire increase to the customers.

Abhishek Gupta, Managing Committee Member, Bombay Goods Transport Association, while agreeing with Singh on the quantum of freight cost increase, also said there was a significant shortage of vehicles on the road, especially in the trunk routes.

For the shortage to ease, he said, small truck operators who had stopped operating due to high operating costs, need to re-start their business. That has begun to happen.

Adaikalraj, a Namakkal-based single truck owner who till October was not plying his vehicle for over a year, has now re-started his operations. “If this momentum continues for a few months, I will make profits,” he said in hope.

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