Commuters on national highways and expressways will need to pay more for their road journeys, as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has increased toll charges by an average of 4 to 5 per cent on highway sections across the country. The revised toll charges for motorists on national highways across the country have come into effect from Tuesday, a senior highways ministry official told PTI.
The recurrent increases in fuel prices over the past 10 days are eating into the margins of transporters, who will be forced to pass on the hikes to their customers. This, in turn, is set to make the prices of daily consumables and other goods dearer, affect consumption, and slow economic growth, said transporters and analysts. Freight rates on grand trunk routes have shot up 3-4 per cent month-on-month in the past few days, according to the Indian Foundation of Transport Research & Training (IFTRT).
'I see a virtually zero impact on the sales of new vehicles with this move,' said an expert
This will have an impact on inflation as everyone in the value chain passes on the costs.
Consolidation has begun, due to which some are trying to trim the business and others are seeking an exit. The situation would worsen after August 31.
About 50,000 truckers, most of whom are single-truck owners, could be thrown off their businesses due to the recent fuel price hike. "Already the vehicle supply on the road is higher than the requirement. "With the fuel price hike, fleet owners will look to cut down fleet size wherever needed and due to this, small single-truck owners could be at the receiving end," Ashok Goyal, managing director at BLR Logistiks (I) Ltd said. The company has a fleet of 500 vehicles of all types-small, medium and large with pan-India presence.
The possibility of harassment by cops and fear of the unknown have forced a large number of truck drivers to abandon vehicles at the transport centres and flee home. Transport of goods remains badly hit as confusion remains among various stakeholders and road transport becomes the victim of disconnect between policy makers and local authorities.
Some 500,000 drivers and helpers have been left high and dry because of lockdown; many of these trucks are carrying essential goods.
Truck rentals during calendar year 2010 rose by 24-40 per cent on trunk routes, with robust manufacturing growth and high consumer spending. However, the rentals stabilised during December and are expected to remain firm in the first quarter of calendar year 2011.
Mahindra is the latest among a clutch of other manufacturers that have been using services, fuel efficiency and packages as unique selling proposition. Sales of Mahindra's heavy trucks dropped to 3,427 units in the eight months from April to September.
Rentals were already high due to strong manufacturing sector growth.
Truck rentals are set to rise 6 to 12 per cent after diesel prices were raised by Rs 2 a litre on Thursday.
Truck rentals have surged six-eight per cent, while retail freight is up by 12-15 per cent after a hike in diesel prices by Rs 2.58 (ex Delhi) and Rs 3 per litre (ex Mumbai and Chennai) was announced in the Budget proposal last week.
The overall volume at India's top four M&HCV makers - Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Volvo Eicher, and Mahindra & Mahindra - fell 59.5 per cent to 31,067 units during the month.
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In its analysis of truck rentals and diesel prices in the country between September to November period, IFTRT said, the government's decision to reduce diesel price by Rs 2 per litre last year has not benefited the common man as freight rates have been maintained at high levels.
A steady climb in volumes has helped the company double its market share in the segment to 5 per cent in the first six months of the financial year from the year-ago period and it has now set its sights on a 10 per cent share in the next two years.
Value added tax regime has not proved superior to sales tax system in tackling tax avoidance so far as inter-state and intra-state movement of goods are concerned, says a survey.
Combined sales at top four manufacturers - Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles, and Mahindra and Mahindra - dropped 20 per cent to 20,324 units in November
Transporters and other stakeholders said the vehicles that will be de-registered would mostly be the ones plying in smaller towns and interior parts of the country.
Govt refuses to budge on their demand for scrapping the present toll system
The reason for the EPE's relatively low volume of traffic may lie in the lack of adequate safety measures, especially after sundown. Barring intermittent patches, the highway has no street lights.
With fuel being the main input cost for the transport sector, rise in cost of operations is a given. The sector is unsure on the extent of being able to pass this on through rentals or to absorb it with higher volumes.
Beside flying squads from RTOs at different points on highways, challans are imposed without any reason. The situation is especially difficult in states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh.
While okra was being sold for Rs 100-120 a kg and cauliflower for Rs 120-140 a kg in Mumbai and its suburbs, all other vegetable prices have increased by almost 100 per cent since July 20.
The system has gone through three rounds of testing for its load-bearing capacity.
The new rail and road cargo service launched on Friday, linking Guangdong, Tibet and Nepal, aims to boost trade with the South Asian neighbour as China pushes forward its Belt and Road (Silk Road) initiative, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.
Truckers on Thursday proceeded on a nationwide indefinite strike.
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Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari promised pan-India electronic toll system by December to address their concerns but ruled out complete scrapping of the toll system.
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