Cement industry has expressed concern about the Railway Ministry’s proposal to pass on the rising costs of fuel on to the freight tariff. Apart from the potential to drive up cost of freight, industry representatives were worried about the ‘uncertainty’ this would introduce into the freight cost. N Srinivasan, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, India Cements, said the move ‘leaves the industry in suspense’ on the frequency and basis of hike.
AV Dharmakrishnan, CEO, Madras Cements, said freight costs account for nearly 28 per cent of the sales cost of cement. The move to hike freight is a serious concern for the industry which depends on movement of inputs and raw materials and final product heavily on logistics.