Prime mover sales down over 62%
Sales of prime movers, which are the front part of semi-trailer type trucks, fell over 62 per cent year-on-year in 2022 in Bangladesh amid a fall in imports and surge in their prices alongside that of fuel.
According to distributors, sales came down to 300 units in 2022 whereas annual sales averaged at around 800 units for the last five to seven years.
Bangladesh imports most of its prime movers from India, the UK and China.
They can have engine capacities of around 5,660cc and pull loads of some 40 to 45 tonnes, including heavy machinery, import and export containers and goods meant for mega projects.
According to market insiders, there are 7,850 prime movers in the country.
"The sales trend of prime movers along with heavy-duty trucks is one of the parameters to understand the economic situation of a country," said Abdul Matlub Ahmad, chairman of Nitol Niloy Group, the local distributor of India's Tata Motors.
The demand for prime movers and trailers increases when export and import activities run in full swing as businesses need logistics support to move goods between ports and factories.
Overall imports stood at $5.03 billion in February whereas it was $8.13 billion during the same month in 2021, as per data from the National Board of Revenue.
According to Ahmad, an increase in the import of raw materials and goods is considered positive for the economy and indicates an increase in industrial production.
Besides, it also gives rise to the possibility of an increase in export earnings, he said.
The decline in prime mover sales came about after the Covid-19 pandemic arose in 2020, when there was a drastic fall in demand that will continue until export and import activities fully recover, Ahmad added.
He went on to say that the operating cost of prime movers, alongside heavy-duty trucks, has increased because of the price hike of diesel.
Diesel currently costs Tk 109 per litre, up by more than 36 per cent from Tk 80 in August 2022.
Neither the government nor the business community can do anything about the business slowdown as it stems from global economic crises driven by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Ahmad said.
"We did not face this type of situation of dull business even during the pandemic and there is no sign for the situation to improve immediately," said Taskeen Ahmed, managing director of Ifad Autos, the sole distributor of India's Ashok Leyland in Bangladesh.
Ifad Autos is a major supplier of prime movers and heavy-duty trucks in the country.
Although overall export was on a positive trend, its impact has not come about in the sale of prime movers, which are essential in providing logistics support to run import and export activities.
However, operating prime movers has become less profitable due to the fuel price increase, he added.
The prime mover market is dull at the moment due to the present condition of the economy, said Subrata Ranjan Das, executive director of ACI Motors, local distributor of Foton Motor of China.
"We brought some units of prime movers but the demand is very low due to the high price. So, we are not importing prime movers for the time being, but we will later once the economy recovers," he added.