Truck freight rates dip for smaller cities, remain flat for bigger ones

Jaipur, Ahmedabad see largest declines

The cost of transporting goods by truck from Delhi to smaller cities, including Jaipur, Lucknow, Dehradun, and Ahmedabad, has decreased in April.

Other cities such as Sirsa, Patna and Bhopal saw an increase of less than one per cent, shows a Business Standard analysis of data collated by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). There was no change in rates for Guwahati and Bhubaneswar. The rates were also flat for major metros, including Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.

The expense is calculated based on transporting goods via trucks carrying 15-tonne capacity on a per-kilometre basis. This cost is provided per kilometre for routes from Delhi to various cities across India.

The rates went down by 12.6 per cent in April, compared to a month ago, in Jaipur. They dipped by 10.2 per cent from Delhi to Dehradun, 9.8 per cent from Delhi to Ahmedabad, and 3 per cent from Delhi to Lucknow in the same comparable period. The rates were higher than a year ago for major metros even as they remained flat compared with March figures.

The per kilometre cost of transporting goods rose 5.8 per cent to Rs 96.3 from Delhi to Chennai in April, compared to Rs 91 a year ago. The Delhi-Kolkata rate rose 2.1 per cent to Rs 42.9 in April 2024 from Rs 42 a year ago. The cost to Bengaluru rose 1.2 per cent to Rs 42.3 compared to Rs 41.8 in April 2023.

Among smaller cities, freight rates from Delhi to Jaipur saw a decline of 16.6 per cent on a year-on-year basis, while from Delhi to Lucknow, they dropped by 4.5 per cent.

Apart from the longer distance the truck has to cover from Delhi to Chennai, compared to Delhi to Bengaluru, there are other reasons for the vast difference in the freight rates, including informal payments at state borders, according to an industry source.

“En route Delhi to Chennai, there's an added charge of diesel, costlier by Rs 8-10/litre...Also, in some seasons, due to the demand for the materials carried from one route, the prices increase. Availability of the return load also affects freight,” the person said.