Haulage trucks: segment guide

The business

Haulage operators carry goods between cities: FMCG, cement, steel, agricultural produce, parcels. A 31-tonne truck on a busy corridor earns ₹1.6 to ₹2.2 L a month in freight, before diesel, tolls, driver, tyres and maintenance.

Healthy usage

• 6 to 10 toll crossings a day on a long-haul route; 25 to 40 a week is normal for a regional truck.
• E-way bills on the operator's GSTIN track the loads carried. A steady count against the prior quarter is the best evidence of steady work.

Warning signs

• FASTag trips down by half for three weeks (U1) with no GPS or route explanation.
• E-way bills down by half against the prior quarter (U5).
• Freight rates falling on the operator's main corridor (E3, KB-029).

At sanction

Ask for the main customers and the routes, and record them. They make the usage signals readable later.