Tolls add heavy burden to trucking goods and drivers

BEIJING - What is the most lucrative industry in China? The answer lies in selling neither securities nor real estate but in building highways.

Payments of highway and bridge tolls make up as much as a third of the total transport costs incurred by trucking and other types of hauling companies at a time when toll collectors are raking in large profits, according to a report by China Central Television (CCTV).

The report recounted the experience of a truck driver, Wu Zhongyao, who said he spent 8,978 yuan ($1,382) on tolls in April while making a 2,800-km trip from South China's Guangdong province to Northeast China's Liaoning province. That money made up a third of his total freight expenses, which came to about 27,500 yuan.