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Informality is widespread across Brazilian industries. Its effects are far-reaching, even contributing to the shortage of professional truck drivers, Vinicios Fernandes, Business Unit Director at IRU member Edenred’s Brazilian subsidiary, told IRU. Brazil’s road freight sector faces a costly challenge. Informality remains deeply embedded in the market. It affects tax revenues. It distorts competition. It reduces visibility across the logistics chain. It also undermines working conditions for drivers.

For the first time, eTIR operations have been run across the Caspian Sea between three countries: Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. These new services will bring additional transit efficiency, speed and security to the vital Middle Corridor. An important bottleneck on the Middle Corridor between China and Europe is set to ease with the start of fully digital TIR operations across the Caspian Sea between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan and on to Uzbekistan.

Jaime Rodríguez, Director of IRU member CONFEBUS, says the shortage of bus and coach drivers is becoming increasingly visible. While the challenges vary across different segments, addressing them will require smarter policies, better promoting the profession, and measures that help attract and retain drivers. Spain’s bus and coach sector is struggling to recruit enough drivers. An ageing workforce, regulatory barriers and changing work expectations are putting significant pressure on operators.

That is the message from Craig Faucette, Chief Operating Officer at IRU member Trucking HR Canada. He says trucking companies are not facing the same shortage levels seen during and immediately after the pandemic. But this is not because Canada has solved the long-term supply problem. The Canadian economy has slowed and inflation has risen sharply, leading to higher interest rates. This has reduced demand for trucking services. As a result, fewer drivers are needed.

At the time of IRU’s last fuel prices update, two weeks ago, road transport operators might have thought the worst was behind them. Today, volatility has returned in both crude supply and diesel price dynamics. Government support measures however are not keeping up. On 3 July, Brent crude was trading at USD 72.5 per barrel, below its late-February pre-war reference level. Since then, the situation has reversed sharply.

IRU welcomes the Commission’s recognition of road transport as one of the key sectors in its Electrification Action Plan, which is an important step towards creating the conditions needed for operators to invest in electric vehicles. The European Commission's new Action Plan aims to accelerate the shift from fossil fuels to electricity across transport, industry and buildings, supporting competitiveness, energy security and lower energy prices.

Uzbekistan has successfully deployed the eTIR National Application, joining its neighbours in fully digitalising TIR road transport operations. A shipment of bulk materials from Tajikistan marked the first eTIR operation for Uzbekistan. It followed training on the eTIR National Application provided by IRU and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) to the State Customs Committee of Uzbekistan.

Driver shortage is putting growing pressure on operators in Europe. IRU member UPS takes special care to get the drivers it needs. But it’s aware of the evolving challenges. We spoke with Chelsea Allison, Vice President Human Resources at UPS Europe, Middle East and Africa, to understand how the company is responding. UPS has a different operating model than many long-haul operators, using a hub-and-spoke system that optimises logistics.

Hendrick Logistics Ireland has successfully completed a temperature-controlled trucking operation from Ireland to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), seamlessly crossing 13 countries in the process. The 8,000km shipment of baby food travelled through Ireland, the UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Türkiye, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE under the TIR system, enabling secure customs transit across multiple borders and jurisdictions.

The shortage of professional drivers is a major challenge for Turkish operators. But targeted cooperation between industry and government is opening the profession to new talent. Long-term career visions and digitalisation are also key to making the profession more attractive. For Elif Nuhoğlu, EU and International Relations Unit Manager at IRU member the International Transporters' Association (UND), one of the clearest answers to the shortage of drivers is to widen access to the profession.