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India's small truckers squeezed as costs eat 30% of trip profit
Rising diesel, driver pay, and insurance costs have squeezed small truckers' margins 30% in three years. Many are selling trucks or shutting down.
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Roshan Singh Chawla, a 52-year-old truck owner in Ludhiana, bought his third truck last Diwali. He is now thinking about selling one.
Chawla owns two Tata Prima heavy-duty trucks and an Ashok Leyland BOSS. His net profit per trip has fallen 30% in three years, he said. Diesel accounts for roughly 60% of operating expenses. Driver pay has doubled over five years. Insurance premiums climbed after a spate of accidents on poorly maintained highways. Toll costs keep rising. The Goods and Services Tax added quarterly filing requirements that many small operators cannot handle without paid accountants.
Small operators like Chawla own more than 80% of India's truck fleet. The sector moves about 70% of the country's freight, from steel to vegetables. The All India Motor Transport Congress estimates 10,000 small trucking firms shut down last year.