The increase in the rates has been primarily attributed to a shortfall in vehicles, steady cargo movement and sever cold conditions persisting in northern states, according to a transporter.

The slowdown in the economy has caused several transporters to default in their loan repayments to finance companies which have confiscated some vehicles. Consequently, there is a shortage of vehicles in the transport sector, he said.

The availability of vehicles has also sharply went down in the last fortnight as the north-bound vehicles are not returning on time due to heavy snowfall, many transporters pointed out.

The good movement of onions and grapes from Nashik to rest of the country was responsible for increasing the truck rates from Mumbai during the last week.

Last week, freight rates to Srinagar and Jammu increased by Rs 1500 and Rs 600 to Rs23000 and Rs 18,000 respectively. The rates to Himachal Pradesh moved up in the range of Rs 200 to Rs 700.

Truck rates to Delhi rose to Rs 13,500 before settling for Rs 13,000, an increase of Rs 600 over last week.

Rates to Haryana, Punjab and Bihar moved up by Rs 200-500. The freight rates to Uttar Pradesh reported a rise of Rs 200-1,000.

The rates to western region increased by Rs 200-600, except to some parts of Maharashtra which reported a marginal fall of Rs 100. The truck rates to cities in Assam increased sharply by Rs 2,5000-3,000 except for Tinshukla. Mumbai to Guwahati and Jorhat freight rates increased by Rs 2,5000 each to Rs 34,5000 and Rs 39,5000.

Rates to West Bengal and Orissa moved up in the band of Rs 200-500 while rates to Calcutta and Cuttack went up by Rs 500 each to Rs 19,500 and Rs 14,500 respectively.

The rates to southern states increased in the Rs 100-500 range while those to Chennai and Kochi in particular increased by Rs 300 and Rs 5000 to Rs 11,800 and Rs 14,000.