The Union budget is not likely to have an immediate impact on freight rates, the transporters opined adding that the impact of budget on truck rates will be reflected only after a week.

In the last week, railway freight hikes catalysed truck freight rates from Mumbai to almost all the states. The rates to Delhi which were hovering at around Rs 13,000 during mid-week jumped to Rs 14,500, but finally settled at Rs 14,000 on Saturday.

In the northern sector, the rates went up by around Rs 500. In the western region, rates to Gujarat and Rajasthan witnessed steep increase, mainly on account of shortage of vehicles and subdued cargo movement. Rates from Mumbai to Ahmedabad went up by Rs 600 to Rs 3,900 and rates to Surat increased by Rs 300 from Rs 2,700. The Mumbai to Jaipur truck rates jumped by Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000. Rates from Mumbai to Madhya Pradesh andMaharashtra increased marginally. Towards the east, rates continue to look up due to a shortage of vehicles. The Mumbai to Guwahati rates touched Rs 29,000, registering a 7.4 per cent rise. Freight rates from Mumbai to West Bengal went up by Rs 200. The Mumbai to Cuttack rates went up by Rs 900 to Rs 13,700, marking a seven per cent increase.

Truck rates from the city to the south rose by around six per cent in the last week. The Mumbai to Hyderabad freight rates increased by Rs 1,000 to Rs 6,700 while rates to Bangalore increased by Rs 400. The Mumbai to Chennai truck rates went up Rs 1,100 to Rs 12,600 and rates to Cochin registered Rs 200 jump to Rs 13,700.