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IRU welcomes the progress made by the Council and the European Parliament on new EU rules to facilitate military mobility, while calling for stronger safeguards to ensure civilian road transport operators can effectively support defence logistics and mobility in times of crisis.

Rising freight demand, an ageing workforce, limited training pathways, and poor facilities are creating a growing challenge for Australia’s trucking sector. We spoke with Sarah Dunning, Strategic Adviser for IRU member NatRoad, to better understand the situation in Australia, where the driver shortage rate hit 12% in 2025, up from 10% in 2024.

IRU’s new position paper on the European Commission’s proposed Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) calls for practical adjustments to ensure the framework strengthens industrial competitiveness and decarbonisation without undermining the road transport sector.

As of 19 June 2026, Brent crude is trading at around USD 80 a barrel, its lowest level since early March. Brent is now broadly flat year on year. At the pump, the relief is starting to show: the EU weighted diesel average has eased to EUR 1.783 a litre, now just 9% above the 27 February baseline. The US average diesel price has fallen to USD 1.354 per litre. Here’s the latest overview for the road transport sector.

IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto has been in the road transport industry for over 30 years. As he prepares to hand over the reins, we sat down with him to reflect on those three decades. The first part of the interview looks at the industry. The second is on IRU itself.

As new powertrain technologies emerge and EU policies push towards zero-emission vehicles, operators face growing pressure to make the right long-term fleet investments. IRU member AFTRI, the French International Road Transport Association, helped us unpack the key factors shaping those choices.

The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement to strengthen the Market Stability Reserve (MSR) for the EU emissions trading system covering buildings, road transport and additional sectors (ETS2), ahead of its full launch in 2028. The agreement backs the European Commission’s proposal to reinforce the existing safeguards designed to limit excessive carbon price volatility.

Protect the North American trade deal, modernise borders and keep goods flowing. That was the message from IRU’s recent North American Transportation Forum webinar. The discussion focused on the future of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), also known as CUSMA in Canada and T-MEC in Mexico, as the three countries move through the agreement’s six-year review process.

With new French electric truck subsidies in place since 1 June 2026, a recent IRU webinar explored the total cost of ownership (TCO) and CO₂ emissions of different truck powertrains in France. The webinar was accompanied by the release of a new IRU Intelligence report on the subject.

A new industry initiative is injecting fresh momentum into the uptake of eCMR, the UN digital consignment note standard, targeting interoperability across vendors, users and countries.

The Netherlands is not yet facing the same acute truck driver shortage seen in some European markets. But a deeper structural challenge is already taking shape. We spoke with Nadia Goverde, HR Director at IRU member Jan de Rijk, to better understand how Dutch operators are experiencing the shortage and preparing for the years ahead.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is reinforcing its role as a key trade hub through its strong and continued support for the TIR system, led by the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA). This commitment is translating into tangible and growing benefits, with faster and more efficient cross-border procedures and an expanding range of operational scenarios.

IRU brought the voice of commercial road transport operators to POLITICO’s Energy & Climate Forum in Brussels, joining European Commissioners, national policymakers, members of the European Parliament, industry leaders and energy experts in discussions on Europe’s energy, climate and competitiveness agenda.

IRU and a cross-sector industry coalition have called on EU policymakers to prioritise infrastructure, investment support and enabling conditions in the transition to zero-emission corporate fleets.

At a recent TIR roundtable in Geneva, IRU members from across Eurasia discussed how to strengthen corridor connectivity, address bottlenecks and accelerate digitalisation.

North America depends on efficient cross-border trucking. Following a leadership dialogue with CEOs and senior trucking leaders in Mexico City, IRU has been working to ensure that the Canada–Mexico–US trade agreement – known as USMCA in the US, CUSMA in Canada and TMEC in Mexico, and currently up for review – addresses border challenges and long-standing commitments to improve cross-border supply chain operations.

IRU, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) call for urgent international action to better protect bus and coach drivers in frontal collisions.

As of 5 June 2026, Brent crude is trading around USD 95 a barrel, a 3% reduction since 22 May. However, it has seen great volatility since 28 May, trading between USD 91 and USD 99 a barrel. Here is the latest overview for the road transport sector, including pump prices.

Eurasian road transport leaders met at the IRU Liaison Committee to Eurasia (CLEA) meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, last week to discuss current operational issues and recent customs and transport developments in the region.

A new TIR Green Lane at the Alashankou border crossing between China and Kazakhstan is amplifying the benefits of the tried-and-tested TIR system.

IRU’s General Assembly and transport councils brought together members from around the world to connect, discuss and decide on key issues.

IRU played a prominent role in bridging EU and national policies, as well as policymaker and operator priorities, at Transpotec Logitec and Next Mobility 2026, a major international exhibition and conference for freight transport, logistics and passenger mobility in Milan, Italy.

IRU members have voted to adopt a new Charter for Women in Road Transport. It sets out core principles to increase women’s participation across the industry’s workforce.

IRU members have unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a fuel crisis mechanism and urging governments to work with road transport operators on the development of contingency plans.

IRU’s General Assembly of members has voted to officially appoint Habib Turki as its next Secretary General.

IRU, the world road transport organisation, has published its 2025 annual report, outlining key achievements in driving safe, efficient and sustainable road transport across the globe.

At BSEC-URTA’s 47th General Assembly, transport leaders and industry representatives highlighted the growing strategic importance of the Black Sea region as a key bridge connecting Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and the GCC region.

On 22 May 2026, Brent crude is trading at around USD 105 a barrel, down 4% from last week. Diesel pump prices have started to ease in several markets, but the European fiscal-cliff calendar is now densely packed into the last week of May and the first week of June. Here is the latest overview for the road transport sector.

IRU joined more than 3,000 transport researchers, policymakers, industry leaders and mobility stakeholders from over 60 countries at the 2026 Transport Research Arena (TRA) in Budapest, one of Europe’s largest events on transport research and innovation.

China is benefiting from a highly practical TIR use case: bonded cargo transport. By combining the tax and customs advantages of bonded zones with the speed, security and simplicity of TIR, Chinese cities are creating faster and more cost-effective overland routes to markets across Eurasia.

At the 12th World Free Zones Organization (WFZO) Congress in Panama City, IRU’s Secretary General warned that the era of single-route supply chains is over, urging free zones and governments to build trade corridors backed by agile, harmonised and digital frameworks.

The adoption of eCMR continues to gather momentum, with Albania having joined eCMR just a few weeks earlier.

The first eTIR transport operations between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan mark a major milestone for the digitalisation of international road transport in Central Asia.

IRU and T&E call for urgent political support to secure a pragmatic compromise in the ongoing trilogue negotiations on the Weights and Dimensions Directive in coordinated letters to the European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU, and the European Parliament’s lead negotiator, Rosa Serrano Sierra.

As the Middle Corridor gains strategic importance for Europe–Asia trade, attention is shifting from political coordination to practical implementation. At a high-level roundtable in Brussels, IRU highlighted the concrete measures needed to make the route faster, more predictable and ready for investment.