Nagpur: Transporter from Vidarbha dealing with Ferrying Cement is in a strike over the past two days demanding a 50% increase in shipping costs.
Transporter said their expenses had increased due to continuous improvement in diesel prices (RS100.67 per liter in the city of Nagpur, Monday).
More than 1,000 trucks owned by local transporter from the region are outside the road.
“Transporter demands an increase in shipping costs,” said King Majumdar, a representative of the cement manufacturing unit in the region.
The source in the industry said that despite road transportation was stopped, the cement bag was being transported by train.
Majumdar said that on Monday, the local transporter refused to load 2,500 tons of cement bags from the Kalamna train yard.
Strikes tend to affect the realty sector.
The worst affected is Chandrapur Regency has at least half a dozen cement factories.
“Unless the request is fulfilled, the carrier will not carry a cement bag,” said Marwah nails, President Nagpur Truckers Unity, added that it was part of the attack that demanded the revision of delivery.
Sources in the industry said the demand for the transport of the region was not fulfilled due to lack of unity among their colleagues throughout the country.
Recently, the truck driver in neighboring Chhattisgarh had been forced to strike, forcing a cement plant there to increase shipping costs by 25%, the source said.
The manufacturing unit has increased the price of a cement bag vary by quoting escalation in raw product costs and allegations of transportation.
The source said the companies, however, ignored the demand for increased shipping costs.
Marwah said representatives from various truck drivers from Vidarbha held a meeting at Nagpur on Monday.
The meeting was held by a Nagpur truck driver.
Transporter threatens to take care of their vehicles from the road until the cement company accepts their request.
High operational costs coupled with the increase in fuel prices eaten to logistics and transportation company margins, the transporter said.
They said the continuous increase in diesel prices had left them without the option but to close the business or extend the strike until the request was met.
Marwah said that to control fuel prices, the central government must force GST no other taxes such as VAT and state taxes.
“This will significantly reduce fuel prices,” he said and added that the central government failed to take corrective steps, the shipping price of all commodities would increase significantly lead to the increase in prices of all commodities.
“The increase in diesel prices has affected the transportation business,” said Pyare Khan, President Director of Ashmi Group which has a 400 vehicle fleet with the presence of Pan-India.
Khan told ToI that the number of transportation vehicles on the road was higher than needed.
“With the increase in fuel prices, the owner will look for reducing the size of the fleet wherever it is needed, so it produces probes for small transporter, especially the owner of a single truck,” he said.