Truck sales dips 10% in Q1: Transport body

Truck sales witnessed 10.42 per cent drop in the first quarter of 2007-08 to 53,708 units against 59,856 units over the same period last year, according to data released by the Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training.

The foundation attributes the fall in sales to fleet expansion of extra heavy duty multi-axle trucks and overloading. It, however, says that higher interest rates have been offset by huge discounts on sales ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 90,000 a unit.

The report also says that truck rentals have dropped by 6 to 10 per cent from April-June because of excess load capacity mismatched by slowness of automotive manufacturing sector, small and medium enterprises and dwindling supply from agricultural sector. For example, freightage per round trip from Delhi-Mumbai has reduced from Rs 38,300 (April) to Rs 36,300(June). This has led to 15-20 per cent lesser realisations for truckers, the report adds.

Ravi Jain, a transport analyst said, " The mere drop of 10.4 per cent in truck sales is not expected to spur truck rentals in the coming weeks. The situation could improve only at the end of the July-September quarter when festival season takes off and the monsoon recedes."