NEW DELHI: India's massive investment in highways and expressways is failing to translate into proportionately faster freight movement because trucks spend too much time waiting at warehouses, factories and logistics hubs, according to a year-long government study.
Nearly 70% of India's freight moves by road, making the system heavily dependent on trucking efficiency.
The findings have prompted the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to write to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), seeking measures to reduce loading and unloading delays that are undermining logistics efficiency gains from improved road infrastructure, according to two people aware of the development.
The study found that despite access-controlled expressways and national highways designed for speeds of 100-120 kmph, average commercial vehicle speeds remain low. Trucks travel at just 37-38 kmph on highways and 47-48 kmph on expressways, only marginally higher than the 35-37 kmph recorded in FY14. This remains well below freight speeds in countries such as the US and China, where commercial vehicles average 65-70 kmph.
According to the study, the problem extends beyond road infrastructure. Truckers often spend up to a day each on loading and unloading cargo, eroding the benefits of faster transit corridors. With no strict requirement for time-bound deliveries across a large share of road freight, operators frequently drive at moderate speeds to conserve fuel, as higher speeds significantly increase operating costs.
To address this, the government is planning to expand time-bound delivery commitments across a broader range of commodities.
"This shift is expected to incentivize faster vehicle turnaround, optimize fleet utilization, and lower overall logistics costs," said one of the people cited above. “The government will also push for time-based incentive schemes for drivers, replacing current cost-centric models that discourage faster transit.”
MoRTH has urged DPIIT to examine institutional interventions that can reduce turnaround times at industrial facilities. A consultative process involving transporters, logistics companies, drivers and manufacturers is also being planned to address operational bottlenecks that continue to limit the efficiency gains expected from upgraded highways, said the second person cited above.
The effort is part of the government's broader push to improve supply-chain competitiveness. Transport infrastructure upgrades have already helped reduce India's logistics costs to 10-10.5% of GDP in FY26, according to Knight Frank, down from 13-14% levels over the last decade.
However, India still lags global benchmarks, with logistics costs estimated at less than 9% of GDP in the US and at 9-12% in China.
Queries emailed to MoRTH and DPIIT remained unanswered till press time.
The next bottleneck
However, logistics executives caution that faster driving alone will not solve the problem.
“The push for time-dependent movement is the right instinct, but it will only work if we fix what happens at the loading dock. Otherwise, we are simply moving the bottleneck rather than eliminating it,” said Sameer Varma, executive director, ColdStar Logistics.
Varma suggested formalizing shipper-transporter agreements through enforceable service level agreements (SLAs), mechanizing cargo handling, adopting relay driving, and scaling up load aggregation.
Industry experts also argue that India should evaluate transport infrastructure by freight movement outcomes rather than road construction alone.
“For decades, India has measured highway success by the kilometres of roads built. Instead, it should track, publicize, and manage the average speed of traffic on these corridors annually,” said Kuljit Singh, partner and national infrastructure leader at EY India.
Other analysts warn that labour shortages could become another major constraint. Devayan Dey, partner for transport, logistics, and infrastructure at PwC India, said improving working conditions will be critical to addressing an emerging driver shortage.
“By 2030, driver availability could emerge as the industry's biggest operational bottleneck,” Dey said, adding that technologies such as telematics and automated load aggregation will be important for improving annual truck utilization.
Achieving meaningful gains in logistics efficiency will require operational changes across the freight ecosystem, said Bhavik Vora, partner and transportation and logistics industry leader at Grant Thornton Bharat.
Vora said the industry must shift its focus from “distance travelled” to “time-to-delivery” through appointment-based loading systems, warehouse digitization, and end-to-end freight visibility tools.