Taking The Highway

- Sekhar Seshan

The economy, R.K. Behera points out, has not been good since 2011-12 when the business cycle hit a trough. “It has now stabilised a little. This year started with a bang as vehicle production jumped, and we sold 40-50 per cent of our annual numbers in the first two months alone. But after that there was a slump again, till October, then one more jump; and now it is down again!” says the chairman of the RSB Group which makes a range of axles for commercial vehicles (CVs), as well as machined castings. “However, construction equipment is doing really well this year – so much so that we are not able to meet the requirement.”

The latest downtrend, of course, is ascribed to the same action of the Narendra Modi government: demonetisation. The Rs280,000- crore Tata Motors Ltd (TML), the biggest manufacturer of trucks in the country, has been badly affected with a fall of 40 per cent in off take, while the others – Ashok Leyland, Daimler Benz and Volvo – have all been badly affected too. Data from the Automotive Component Manufacturers’ Association (ACMA) also shows that passenger car sales are up – but, as Behera points out, “we are more into CVs and construction equipment”.