Truck Rentals across major trunk routes in India remain flat in December 2024: Shriram Mobility Bulletin

Hyderabad, January 9, 2025:
Truck rentals across most trunk routes in India remained flat in December 2024 as winter chill and consumption slowdown impacted logistics activity. Some trunk routes like Kolkata-Guwahati-Kolkata and Mumbai-Chennai-Mumbai saw an increase of 1.5% and 1.3%
respectively in December 2024 on a month-on-month basis, while key Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi was down 0.7%.

The Prayagraj region witnessed a 30–40% spike in trucking activity in December, spurred by preparations for the upcoming Maha Kumbh Mela to be held from January 13 to February 26, 2025. However, restrictions on truck entry during the 45 days of the Mela could moderate the movement of these vehicles to and from Prayagraj and possibly have a small impact on truck rentals as well. The continued ban on entry of BS3 and BS4 diesel vehicles in the NCR region continues to pose challenges for truckers in that region.

Mr. Y S Chakravarti, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Shriram Finance Ltd., said,
“December 2024 marked a tepid yet stable period for India’s trucking and mobility sector. While truck rentals on major trunk routes remained steady, fleet occupancy levels continued to remain subdued. The upcoming Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj is driving a surge in trucking demand to that region, but restrictions during the event, until February 26, 2025 may temper this momentum. However, the Rabi harvest season and increase in infrastructure development has spurred sales of agricultural tractors and earth moving equipment.”

December’s holiday season drove an 10% increase in FASTag transactions and a 13% rise in transaction value compared to December 2023. This highlights heightened road travel activity in the holiday season.
Fuel consumption trends for petrol and diesel increased by 11% and 6% respectively in December 2024 year-on-year (YoY). While two-wheelers saw a cumulative rise of 11% in the period of April–December 2024, motor car sales experienced a marginal 0.1% drop for
the same period.

Bulk cargo handled by major ports in India witnessed a 7% MoM and 3% YoY increase while containerised cargo registered a 12% MoM and 16% YoY increase in December 2024.