Highway trucks in north Maharashtra (Vikas Khot/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)Trucks are covering 30 per cent longer distances per day since the roll-out of the goods and services tax (GST), reported the Economic Times today (26 July). While trucks covered a distance of about 225km on average earlier, they now cover 300-325km a day.
The time spent at interstate check posts accounted for 20 per cent of a truck’s run-time earlier. The removal of these posts has cut travel time by at least one-fifth.
These facts came to light from a Ministry of Road Transport & Highways document on the impact of GST on the logistics sector. The booklet has reportedly said logistics cost would be slashed to about 10-12 per cent of the total value of goods, down from 14 per cent, on the back of such factors as end of border check posts across states and reduction in traffic congestion on highways.
This will bring our logistics cost closer to that of the developed countries, where it accounts for 6-8 per cent of the total value of goods.
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