Mining clearances to determine tippers demand: Tata Motors

Vehicle-maker Tata Motors on Friday said it is expecting a demand rebound for its range of tipper trucks post monsoon season and forthcoming policies in the mining sector will play a key role in driving requirement in the market.

"The tipper market is subdued during the monsoon season (June-August) but we expect it to improve with the coal and iron sector pulling up the demand," Rajesh Kaul, business head of intermediate, medium and heavy trucks in the commercial business unit, told media persons here.

Kaul said the overall economic conditions are not good at present and tippers - variant of a truck which can raise its rear platform - have seen a stagnant phase in its demand.

"Coal will help the segment grow when the requirement will come (post auction phase). In other mining areas, when we see government clearances coming in, we should see growth. Its (unit sales) more to do with what sort of clearances are given in the days ahead," he said.

In the past five months, tippers have seen a growth between 1-1.5 percent which had pulled down the consolidated growth in the commercial vehicle business at 26 percent.

However, Kaul said the construction and road segment has kept the demand for keepers going despite the plummeting requirement in the mining sector at the moment.

Following the commencement of mining operations in the eastern belt, the company is expecting good demand from states including Chattisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal.

"We are also making products specific to road construction, deep mining, shallow mining so that people get optimal return on their investment," said A.K. Jindal, who heads the engineering division of commercial vehicles.

In August this year, the company's medium-heavy commercial vehicles continued on its growth path at 12,017 units - higher by 31 percent in comparison to the corresponding month last year. However, the light-small commercial vehicle sales continued to decline by 25 percent in comparison to the same month in 2014 resulting in the consolidated commercial business division posting a decline of four percent.

The cumulative sales of commercial vehicles in the domestic market for the current fiscal stood at 1,20,322 units - lower by five percent as against the corresponding timeperiod in the last fiscal year.

Tata Motors had hosted a truck expo in Kolkata showcasing its product range.