Intercontinental freight road transport operations are possible

The truck caravan started in Beijing at the 3rd IRU Euro-Asia Road Transport Conference with the slogan "From Beijing to Brussels, road transport drives progress", arrived in Warsaw, thus demonstrating that road transport is capable to perform intercontinental operations.

14 October 2005, Warsaw - The project aimed at delivering freight from China, initiated by the International Road Carriers Union of Kazakhstan (KazATO) and supported by the International Road Transport Union (IRU), is of importance to the international road carriers from Poland. For the time being, they have not developed their links with China markets in so far as freight from China is carried mainly by sea. The interest of Polish business community in road transport operations from China is justified since some freight needs to be delivered quickly and handled carefully. It is the road transport that offers a "door-to-door" delivery that is more rapid than by sea and less expensive than by air.

The Polish road transport industry and business community has showed significant interest in the truck caravan bridging Asia and Europe. At the press conference on the occasion of the caravan arrival in Warsaw, Mr V. Gorski, representative of Polish Ministry of Infrastructure, thanked the International Road Transport Union for its support to the project designed to bridge Asia and Europe, and indicated that this project is very important for Poland where road transport sector counts more than 66’000 road vehicles and employs over 12’000 people.

Mr Y. Guisen, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Poland, said: "I see all prerequisites for successful implementation of this project and hope that trade between Asia and Europe will be carried on the basis of negotiations and appropriate arrangements with no quota and limitations".

Mrs I. Rogowska, representative of Tracetrans, said that today, rail transport represents 90% of transport operations from China to Germany performed by her company. However, customers require increasingly express delivery and, therefore, her company is willing to support and promote the project aimed at delivering goods by road from China to Europe among its customers.

By supporting the KazATO initiative of using road transport for freight delivery from China to Europe, the International Road Transport Union demonstrated once more its commitment to the development of international road transport operations that contribute significantly to the development of national economies. By cooperating with its members - International Road Carriers Associations from China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland - the IRU puts into practice its slogan "Working together for a better future".