Newsroom

IRU members and industry leaders from Eurasia and beyond, as well as development partners, international organisations and financial institutions, are gathering in Uzbekistan to discuss challenges and capitalise on opportunities to streamline international trade.

Ran Wang has taken the reigns of IRU’s regional office in Beijing, China, overseeing East and Southeast Asia.

A second TIR logistics hub has opened in western China, offering a one-stop-shop for TIR transport companies, customs services and supply chain players.

Iran’s main road transport association has joined IRU as its newest member.

Following Italy’s accession to e-CMR earlier this year, Austria has become the latest country to go digital.

The Kashgar TIR Logistics Hub, a one-stop-shop consolidating all essential TIR transit services under one roof, is now helping ship goods from China to Afghanistan.

For the first time, a TIR truck operated by a Chinese haulage company has reached Türkiye, slashing journey times and pioneering new opportunities for the industry.

A single-lane restriction could disrupt millions of annual freight deliveries via the Brenner motorway, a key artery for European trade across the Alps. Leading transport and logistics associations urge the European Commission to act now and work with affected countries to find solutions.

In a sign of the growing importance of the Middle Corridor to pan-Asian trade, a Trans-Caspian road transport pilot using TIR has been launched by the Presidents of China and Kazakhstan.

With the rapid expansion of TIR in China, inland Zhengzhou and coastal Qingdao have emerged as pioneers for international road transport connectivity. With TIR, both cities are boosting their key roles in regional trade networks.

The southern branch of the east-west corridor offers unparalleled connectivity. A 20-day road transport operation is a recent example of that.

The TIR system is primed to elevate the efficiency and security of China’s trade with its neighbours and beyond.

How do we boost the efficiency and security of transit? IRU and WCO Secretaries General weighed the available options.

Customs authorities, TIR transport companies and IRU members from China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Uzbekistan came together at a recent TIR workshop to exchange know-how and unlock economic and trade potential.

IRU, the world road transport organisation, has published its annual report for 2023, looking at the organisation’s progress and achievements in shaping safe, efficient and sustainable road transport during its 75th anniversary year.

Three Chinese TIR trucks have successfully completed a pilot project along the Middle Corridor. This marks a significant step forward for Chinese trucking companies exploring long-distance cross-border road transport along crucial trade corridors.

The first TIR Logistics Hub accredited by IRU has opened in Kashgar, western China, offering a one-stop-shop for TIR transport companies, customs services and supply chain players.

Opening the 2024 ITF Summit of Transport Ministers in Leipzig, Germany, IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto has stressed the importance of a pragmatic approach to decarbonising commercial road transport based on proven, available efficiency measures.

The National Logistics Corporation (NLC), a pioneer of many East-West Asia trade routes using the TIR system, has joined IRU as its newest member.

Global and European trade associations representing commercial transport have issued an urgent alert to all businesses involved in the movement of goods into or via the EU, Norway, Switzerland or Northern Ireland, by sea, road or rail. The new Import Control System (ICS2) will start to be introduced from June this year.

The European Commission has released its official response to a complaint by the Italian government, clearly outlining several breaches of EU law by Austria. As repeatedly stated by the commercial road goods transport sector, several traffic bans imposed by Austria against heavy goods vehicles are hampering the free movement of goods by road through one of the key trade corridors, in breach of EU law.

IRU laid out key actions to more efficiently and securely manage the growing volume of goods transiting through the Turkic region at the Organization of Turkic States’ conference in Geneva.

At an international event in Brazil, IRU, industry leaders and officials from Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay discussed pressing challenges undermining trade and transit.

IRU’s President detailed the latest road transport trends in the Black Sea region at BSEC-URTA’s General Assembly.

Road transport’s pivotal role in trade topped the agenda during a recent meeting between IRU’s Secretary General and Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to WTO.

IRU detailed how harmonised tools and digitalisation can significantly enhance the efficiency, security and sustainability of trade at the Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Forum.

Despite a last-minute push for technology neutrality, the European Parliament’s plenary vote on CO₂ emission standards for new heavy-duty vehicles fails to recognise other solutions that can play a role in decarbonising the commercial road transport sector.

Recent crises have shifted global trade routes. Trade facilitation tools and digitalisation are needed more than ever to facilitate the flow of goods.

With the EU’s tachograph retrofitting process underway, we caught up with our member Transport en Logistiek Nederland (TLN) to get their perspective on how the industry is dealing with the new devices and where next for this technology.

Amid the ongoing Red Sea crisis, major logistics operators have opted for the TIR system to ensure that goods flow smoothly between East Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

In this guest article, the Milton Group's Business Development Director, John Lucy, explains how they have mobilised the TIR system to keep goods flowing amid the Red Sea crisis.

Members of the IRU Commission on Customs Affairs (CAD) have discussed key measures to optimise trade and transit as well as the growing interest in the TIR system amid the Red Sea crisis.

The implementation of TIR Green Lanes, eTIR and training capacity topped the agenda during the first meeting between IRU’s Secretary General and the new UN Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan.

IRU was at the heart of the 86th Inland Transport Committee (ITC) debates last week, outlining key decarbonisation and trade facilitation opportunities ahead.

Many farmer protests across Europe have seriously disrupted logistic chains, blocking key routes, attacking trucks and destroying cargo, often with the police as a passive witness. The cost for drivers and transport firms is huge and growing. They need compensation.