Newsroom

North America's road transportation industry welcomes the United States removing its Covid-19 vaccine mandate for foreign truck drivers, following lobbying by IRU members.

The heads of several major international organisations met in Geneva yesterday to finalise recommendations for future public health emergencies drawn out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of road transport operations and drivers, especially those crossing borders, were confronted with thousands of uncoordinated government restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. This resulted in rapidly changing national rules and restrictions which made it difficult to keep supply and mobility chains open.

IRU’s annual driver shortage survey shows unfilled commercial driver positions continue to increase at alarming rates across the globe.

Without a rapid roll-out of recharging infrastructure across the continent, Europe’s freight operators will continue to choose diesel-powered vehicles over clean alternatives, participants at an event on green road freight have heard.

Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) transport ministers meeting virtually this week have discussed the ongoing impact of the pandemic and ways to support transport and transit.

IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto has today warned government ministers at a UN conference that dramatic increases in road transport demand, unnecessary and misguided COVID restrictions, driver shortages and significant fuel price increases continue to cause havoc in global supply chains.

World Health Organisation Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus and ILO Director-General Guy Ryder have confirmed their organisations will form an Action Group “as a matter of urgency” with major transport bodies to ensure freedom of movement for international transport workers.

World leaders’ knee-jerk reactions to the Omicron variant are putting transport workers and the global supply chain at greater risk of collapse, warn international transport organisations and unions representing road, air and sea transport.

Member associations of IRU, the world road transport organisation, have voted for an emergency call to governments on dealing with current global supply chain disruptions.

IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto has addressed the 15th annual meeting of TRACECA governments on measures that remain to be acted upon by governments.

Current COVID border restrictions and post-pandemic economic growth are both driving an increased focus on making trade and transport more efficient and connected across the landlocked countries of Central Asia. 

IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto has addressed 14 ministers of transport in a closed door round table session during the 12th Transport and Communication Forum, hosted by the Turkish Ministry of Transport. 

Global road, air and sea organisations and unions have today called on the world’s heads of government gathering at this week’s UN General Assembly to end a ‘global humanitarian and supply chain crisis.’ In an open letter published on the day of UNGA’s General Debate in New York, IRU, the International Road Transport Union, IATA, the International Air Transport Association, ICS, the International Chamber of Shipping, and ITF, the International Transport Workers’ Federation, made an urgent plea

Transport networks around the world, both logistics supply chains and passenger mobility services, are increasingly looking at how they can become more resilient to change, such as the impacts resulting from the current pandemic. 

Today, IRU addressed a special WTO COVID-19 Symposium and a meeting of the UN Advisory Group on Transport Responses to the pandemic, providing an update on the impact of COVID-19 on the road transport industry. 

The Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebryesus, has responded positively to IRU’s recent emergency call on COVID vaccinations for drivers.

IRU is calling on the World Health Organization and national governments to introduce urgently a global mutually recognised digital vaccination certificate for commercial truck and coach drivers. 

IRU members came together virtually this week to discuss key industry issues and vote on important new IRU policy positions. Updates included the impact of COVID-19 on commercial transport operators and IRU’s global call to action, a global driver treatment charter, digitalisation of TIR and trade corridors, and Mobility Package 1 enforcement for coach services in the EU.

IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto was invited by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) last week to advise senior UN officials, prime ministers and ministers From Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) on how to leverage road transport to drive economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Taxis are continuing to show solidarity with the communities they serve after over a year on the front line of the fight against the pandemic. With vaccination efforts advancing, taxi drivers are once again stepping up to transport the most vulnerable members of our communities.

Following an emergency virtual meeting on COVID-19 organised by IRU, the leaders of major Eurasian regional bodies today issued a joint statement calling for urgent and coordinated government action.

Following an open letter urging Chancellor Angela Merkel to reconsider Germany’s misguided border restrictions on testing commercial vehicle drivers, IRU was today invited by the government to brief key ministries on the impact their measures are having on internal commercial road transport in Europe.

For decades, IRU has been running the Flash Info service to provide its members with real-time country information on road traffic, strikes, blockades and roadworks affecting commercial road transport.

IRU, along with several of its EU member associations, has written to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling for European Commission action against multiple driving bans for heavy goods vehicles in the Austrian Region of Tyrol.

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically transformed the operating environment for road transport companies around the globe. In Sweden, government restrictions hit the passenger transport sector particularly hard, with bus companies losing 90% of their income and business almost overnight. 

Addressing ministers and senior UN officials at a UNECE high-level policy meeting, IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto today called on ministers to keep borders open in line with IRU’s COVID-19 call for action, which was recently supported by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has backed IRU’s call to keep goods moving smoothly across borders during the pandemic.

New measures imposed by Germany, followed by Tyrol (Austria) and the Czech Republic, are beginning to cause chaos to goods transport by road across Europe, in particular on the important trade route from Italy northwards across the Brenner Pass, as well as East-West corridors. 

With the support of its members, IRU has launched a social media campaign, support4taxi, with operators and drivers from Germany, Ireland, Romania and Spain expressing their concerns on the future of their sector.

Blocked supply chains and badly treated essential transport workers, from inside or outside the EU, will hinder Europe’s fight against the pandemic.

The EU Council, meeting yesterday to discuss COVID-19 measures, has endorsed IRU’s strong call to keep borders open for essential goods transport across Europe.

With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to transform their operating environment, road transport companies are having to swiftly adapt their strategies.

As thousands of stranded truck drivers are preparing to spend a grim Christmas along European roads, haulage firms need governments to agree and act on clear protocols to avoid a crisis like COVID-19 blocking a major border crossing again.

New IRU research reveals the continuing catastrophic impact of COVID-19 on the commercial road transport industry, with a very high default and insolvency risk across the sector worldwide. 

With the pandemic continuing to severely impact countries around the globe, the road transport industry remains committed to maintaining its services to communities and economies.