<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:

&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Highlighting an escalation of operational constraints

that are rapidly thinning out domestic fleet utilization, the All India

Transporters Welfare Association (AITWA) has issued an urgent nationwide

advisory to manufacturers, ports, and export-import stakeholders. Warning that

a convergence of localized fuel shortages, technical compliance hurdles, and

severe route imbalances has triggered unprecedented disruptions across the road

transport sector, the apex industry body has formally requested trade partners

to treat the current operating climate as a <i>Force Majeure</i> environment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:

&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">The emergency declaration aims to legally shield

trucking companies and asset-heavy logistics operators from being financially

penalized by corporate cargo owners for severe transit delays and vehicle

placement backlogs, which drivers argue are entirely beyond their control.<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:

&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">According to the association, transporters are

currently grappling with sudden, uneven diesel shortages across key industrial

corridors, resulting in dry pumps and extended vehicle idling times.

Compounding the issue, fuel stations have widely withdrawn traditional credit

sales for commercial fleets, placing an immediate, heavy liquidity crunch on

operators who must now fund long-haul trips entirely on a cash basis.<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:

&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">Beyond fuel issues, the sector is facing a severe

administrative drag linked to vehicle fitness renewals at regional transport

offices (RTOs). The friction has been further intensified by implementation

challenges surrounding the mandatory integration of Vehicle Location Tracking

Devices (VLTD), a compliance bottleneck that has temporarily sidelined

thousands of eligible goods carriers nationwide.<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:

&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">These administrative hurdles are clashing with rapidly

shifting maritime cargo flows, which have severely disrupted traditional route

economics. Transporters report that a steep imbalance between inward and

outward port shipments is forcing heavy-duty trucks to run completely empty on

return legs, destroying the commercial viability of round-trip freights. AITWA

explicitly flagged an imminent slowdown in freight movement across crucial

maritime gateways in Gujarat including Mundra Port, Gandhidham, and the Kutch

logistics hub driven by sudden diesel supply drops and parallel operational

pullbacks by local regional transport sub-associations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:

&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">To prevent a total breakdown of the supply chain grid,

AITWA has urged corporate clients and manufacturing houses to temporarily

suspend long-term fixed freight contracts, shifting instead to prevailing spot

market rates to reflect real-time fuel and transit expenses. The association

has also called for an immediate moratorium on late-delivery penalties and

requested cargo clients to clear long-overdue invoices to inject much-needed

liquidity back into the trucking ecosystem.<o:p></o:p></span></p>