Over 75 per cent of the total cargo in the country is transported by road. This includes commodities like cement, fertilisers, food grain and steel, general cargo like FMCG products, leather goods and high-value cargo like refrigerators, electronics and other white goods.
Experts said any interruption in the supply of these commodities may result in a loss of over Rs 1,500 crore to the economy every day.
Though truck owners in some states like West Bengal, Orissa, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have declared to stay out of the general strike, it will not help in easing the pressure, said experts. The striking goods transport agencies (GTAs) control over 90 per cent of the total cargo carried over road.
Praveen Khandelwal, the secretary general of the Federation of All India Traders, said: "The strike is going to have an impact on the movement of commodities like food grain, vegetables and other raw materials for trade and industry. But it will take another 3-4 days to assess the exact impact of the strike. We have advised our trade bodies to act wisely and check any undue increase in commodity prices."
However, consignors say that unlike previous transport strikes organised by the AIMTC, when the bookings for long routes were stopped 6 to 7 days before the strike, this time bookings and delivery of cargo continues uninterrupted. Major truck booking centres like Vaashi, Ludhiana, Delhi, Kanpur, Ranchi, Kolkata and Dhanbad had witnessed cargo booking even till June 30. So, the strike will not have a significant impact on them at least for the next 4-5 days.
A number of cement and steel producers said they were unaware of the strike and maintained that any significant impact would be felt only if the strike lasts beyond 4-5 days since all the dealers and retailers maintain an inventory level that is sufficient to meet demand for 5-6 days.
The AIMTC has called a nationwide strike protesting over the government's move to levy full service tax at the rate of 12.36 per cent on services like cargo handling, storage and warehousing being provided by the transport agencies.
"At present, 70-75 per cent of our total cement dispatch takes place by rail. If the strike is effective, the remaining dispatch may be affected. We will, however, try to compensate part of it by maximising rail dispatches," said Rahul Kumar, chief operating officer (cement), Jaiprakash Associates, a major cement player.
"It depends on how long the strike will last. If it is a matter of 3-4 days, then there won't be a significant impact. But if it prolongs, then there will be pressure since there will be a delay in the arrival of the raw material at the factories and then transporting it to the suppliers," a senior executive at a consumer durables major said.
This, the truck operators have alleged, is against the agreement that they had reached with the government in 2004, in which they were given an abatement of 75 per cent on the service tax payment for the above-mentioned service, apart from the goods transport service.
Gurinder Pal Singh, a former president of AIMTC, said, "So far, we have not received any direct response from the government. But, by tomorrow we expect that the finance and transport ministry might intervene to find an amicable solution to the issue."
