Lockdown slams brakes on truckers’ business

Vijay C Roy
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 28

In transport business since 2003, Malkit Singh (31), had never imagined that fleet utilisation would come to such a low level and he won’t be able to pay EMIs of his trucks. With lockdown halting the transport sector, the demand for trucks has come down to 30%.

“At this level of utilisation, we are unable to meet even basic expenses. I have approached banks to defer my EMIs of trucks at least by six months. But they are yet to receive guidelines from their central office and asked me to wait for few days,” said Malkit Singh, proprietor, Ludhiana Kolkata Transport Company, Ludhiana. He has five trucks.

Malkit is not alone but truckers across the region and the country are facing liquidity issues because of low fleet utilisation, insurance premium, staff salary and rentals.

According to All India Motor Transport Congress, nearly 85% truckers are small operators (having fleet size of less than 10 trucks) and facing cash crunch.

Overall, there are around 90 lakh trucks across the country. The northern region, comprising Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, J&K and Ladakh, contributes 30% of the total trucks.

“The situation is worrisome to the extent that the truckers are not able to pay insurance premiums of their trucks and plying on roads without it,” said Naveen Kumar Gupta, secretary general, All India Motor Transport Congress.

The transporters said with the lockdown norms being eased, many industries have gradually resumed operations and may require transportation. However, shortage of drivers will act as a stumbling block.

“It’s an open secret that demand and consumption have gone for a toss, making the life of drivers, workers and owners tough. The industry is facing shortage of drivers and workers are reluctant to come back because of uncertainty,” said Naveen.

Baweja said the government must come forward to support the transport sector by making loans cheaper. The transporters have demanded that all statutory compliances should be deferred by six months and interest on EMIs should be waived for the deferred period.

The transporters apprehend that if the situation doesn’t improve, many small transporters will shut down operations. To survive slump in the lockdown period, they have sought suspension of toll charges and reduction in VAT on diesel.

They are of the view that if toll charges are suspended till the situation normalises, the sector will be immensely benefitted.

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