The disruption has also hit pharmaceutical players, delaying shipments of medicines and protective health gear. Medikabazaar, a business-to-business seller of medical supplies, has even struggled to get consignments to hospitals due to a shortage of trucks, said Chief Executive Vivek Tiwari. In once instance, it took 11 days - three times longer than usual - to transport virus-related medical supplies to a hospital in the southern city of Bengaluru from Delhi after two transport companies failed to find drivers. Tiwari said he eventually had to turn to India’s postal department for help. Even with limited movement of goods so far, freight costs have spiked by up to three times for long distances as orders are erratic and trucks would often need to return empty, said Sachin Haritash, CEO of logistics technology platform Mavyn. Mavyn connects consumer goods companies like Marico and Hindustan Unilever and pharmaceutical firms like Zydus with transport providers, and Haritash said he is already seeing a reluctance by drivers to do long distances.
Aditi Shah, 'India's truckers in crisis: police checks, no food and fears of coronavirus', Reuters
