However, the exact trend in the market will surface only by Thursday when the truck freight market opens after a four day vacation. Last week, the freight rates registered only a marginal fall as against the expectation of a four per cent drop.

The main reason for the deviation was the shortage of vehicles while the cargo movement remained slightly stronger than what was expected. The rates from Mumbai to most of the northern states witnessed a drop of around Rs 300.The Mumbai to Jammu rates fell by Rs 1,000 to Rs 18,000. Truck rates to Shimla reduced to Rs 18,600, a fall of Rs 400. Mumbai toDelhi rates dropped by Rs 200 to Rs 15,300.

The rates to western region remained subdued except for Madhya Pradesh where the freight rates increased marginally by Rs 200. The truck rates from Mumbai to Assam declined after a long period. The rates to Guwahati decreased by Rs 2,000 to Rs 37,500.

The rates to Dimapur went down by Rs 1,000 to 47,000. In the eastern sector, Orissa was the only state to which the truck rates went up. The Mumbai to Bhubaneshwar rates increased by Rs 500 to Rs 13,500. The truck rates from Mumbai to various cities in south looked-up during the last week. Mumbai to Vishakhapatnam increased by Rs 700 to Rs 9,000 while rates to Vijaywada and Hyderabad remained stable.

The freight rates to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu increased marginally by Rs 200. The rates to Kerala too increased a slight increase, except for Cochin to which the truck rates increased from Rs 12,500 to Rs 13,300.