Head of Iranian customs and IRU weigh key regional opportunities

13 OCT 2023 · PROSPERITY

Given Iran’s growing role in regional trade, IRU and Iranian customs explored avenues to further optimise border crossings and key corridors.

IRU’s Secretary General held high-level talks with Mohammad Rezvanifar, President of the Iranian Customs Administration, in Geneva on how to further enhance transport and transit in Iran.

Both sides discussed the latest developments in international logistics chain, particularly given Iran’s pivotal geographical position and its active role in the Economic Cooperation Organization region, which makes it a key transit country connecting east and west as well as north and south.

Regarding east-west corridors, Umberto de Pretto highlighted that the southern corridor connecting China to Europe via Turkmenistan, Iran and Turkey has great potential with high capacity. Streamlining border crossings and simplifying customs procedures, including by implementing best practices and global standards such as the TIR system, could reduce the costs and time of transport and optimise corridors crossing Iran.

Reducing physical controls by using the only global secure transit system, implementing TIR-EPD green lanes, digitalising customs documents, encouraging seamless transport rather than the transhipment of goods at borders, and transferring import and export customs formalities from borders to inland customs offices would reduce the congestion at borders and increase transit volume.

Both sides agreed to work together to streamline border crossings and facilitate transit in Iran, including by conducting a study on the challenges during transit to provide recommendations on how to increase trade and transit volumes.

Source IRU

US trucking in global dialogue with IRU on industry challenges

18 OCT 2023 · PROSPERITY

IRU’s Secretary General unpacked pressing developments, particularly driver shortages and decarbonisation, facing the trucking industry in the United States and beyond at ATA’s Management Conference & Exhibition.

Umberto de Pretto outlined solutions to driver shortages and decarbonisation at IRU member the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA’s) 2023 Management Conference & Exhibition (MCE) in Austin, Texas.

In conversation with ATA President and CEO Chris Spear, Umberto de Pretto said, “We need to strike the right balance between cutting CO₂ emissions and continuing to effectively meet demand for our services. And we certainly need to consider regional and national specificities, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. More importantly, carriers should have the freedom to choose what’s best for their operations.”

“We must also focus on actions we can take right now, such as driver training and eco-trucks. Two eco-trucks can transport the cargo of three standard trucks. Eco-driving training can reduce fuel consumption by up to 15%,” highlighted Umberto de Pretto.

“Don’t get me wrong, these solutions are not easy to implement, but they are feasible measures that we can take right now to reduce CO₂ emissions,” he added.

Umberto de Pretto also touched on the importance of public-private partnerships. “Governments must support us and provide the investment and incentives needed for trucking companies in each region to decarbonise”.

Chris Spear and Umberto de Pretto then pivoted to chronic driver shortages. “Most regions are facing a growing shortage of truck drivers, which is posing significant risks to the supply chains that we all rely on. What is even more concerning is the low rate of young people entering the profession. The trucking industry has an ageing driver population that we must structurally address. The industry desperately needs more young people,” said Umberto de Pretto.

Umberto de Pretto also focused on a historical challenge facing truck carriers and drivers across the globe: long border queues.

“How can we attract and retain drivers, including women, given that drivers are often stranded at borders for days, sometimes weeks? How can we strive to reduce our CO₂ emissions while our trucks waste fuel inching ahead, ever so slowly, idling in seemingly never-ending queues? What makes it worse is that we have solutions, such as the TIR system. Countries in Asia and the Middle East are embracing TIR. But, unfortunately, the political will is not there in every country and region.”

Umberto de Pretto concluded his presentation by presenting Chris Spear with a special plaque marking IRU’s 75th anniversary and commemorating ATA and IRU’s long-standing partnership dating back to the 1960s.

Source IRU