India's expressway boom stalls at the loading dock: truck speeds barely budge, squeezing retail margins
MoRTH study finds Indian trucks crawl at 37-38 kmph on highways and just 47-48 kmph on expressways—half of US/China norms—as loading/unloading delays erase road upgrades. Ministry seeks DPIIT action on turnaround times, threatening FMCG, cold chain and quick-commerce cost structures even as logistics drops to 10-10.5% of GDP.
What happened
Government study finds Indian truck speeds barely improved despite expressway expansion, with loading/unloading delays eroding gains. MoRTH seeks DPIIT
Key facts
- 70% road freight share
- 37-38 kmph highway speeds
- 47-48 kmph expressway speeds
- 65-70 kmph US/China
- logistics cost 10-10.5% of GDP FY26
- down from 13-14%
Why this matters
Scout bolt-on targets in dock scheduling software, automated loading systems, and cold-chain yard ops—DPIIT pressure on turnaround times will create a 12-18 month policy tailwind for these niches.