Road transport resilience in Vilnius innovation spotlight

At the opening of Lithuania's annual International Transport Innovation Forum, IRU stressed key measures to raise resilience, focusing on driver shortages, decarbonisation and digitalisation.

Following opening speeches by Lithuania's Prime Minister as well as the Minister of Transport and Communications at the International Transport Innovation Forum yesterday, IRU's Secretary General charted trends and resilience in global supply chains.

IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto said, "Our sector must be resilient, not only for its own stake, but because economies and communities need resilient road transport adaptable to sudden shocks such as disasters or long-term trends like demographic change.

"This is also why our sector has the Charter 75, road transport's commitment to rescue people, rebuild shattered communities and make mobility networks and supply chains more resilient and better able to withstand future shocks."

"The key to further raising the resilience of road transport is tackling driver shortages, decarbonisation and digitalisation," he added.

Driver shortage

The global shortage of truck drivers is projected to double by 2028, with over 50% of operators struggling to hire skilled drivers.

In Lithuania, 12% of truck driver positions are unfilled, projected to hit 18% by 2028. Only 0.5% of truck drivers are women, the lowest rate in Europe. Lithuania does lead in young driver rates, 10.9% of its truck drivers are under 25, more than double the EU average.

"To attract new talent, especially women and youth, we need to keep entry barriers to the profession low and improve working conditions by, for example, building more safe and secure parking areas and revamping training programmes," said Umberto de Pretto.

"But above all, drivers need to be recognised for what they are: heroes!"

Decarbonisation

IRU and its members are committed to fully decarbonise road transport by 2050, as outlined in the IRU Green Compact. But it comes with enormous challenges.

"To decarbonise while continuing to effectively meet growing transport demand, we must focus on efficiency measures, and, in parallel, have a longer-term strategy of incorporating alternative fuels, which is largely dictated by the availability of the required infrastructure," said Umberto de Pretto.

"We can't forget that a greater use of buses and coaches, the most environmentally friendly and safest means of passenger mobility, is key to our decarbonisation goals," he added.

IRU has been leading sustainability efforts. It established the first sustainable development charter of any mode of transport nearly 30 years ago.

Digitalisation

Digitalisation is central to further raising the resilience and sustainability of road transport.

"Technology, including AI, is advancing rapidly and fundamentally impacting transport. But we can't forget about 'bread-and-butter' digitalisation tools, especially for cross-border services. Truck drivers are still forced, in some cases, to carry up to 50 paper documents," said Umberto de Pretto.

"With growing transport demand, transitioning from paper to fully digital exchanges for transit, customs and permits has never been more urgent. The global standard for paperless consignment notes, e-CMR, is a great example," he added.

Minister talks

In talks with Marius Skuodis, Lithuania's Minister of Transport and Communications, on the sidelines of the Forum, Umberto de Pretto stressed two points: setting United Nations transport conventions as clear performance indicators for the Decade for Sustainable Transport as well as supporting the role of eco-trucks in driving decarbonisation.

Transformation panel

IRU also participated in a panel debate on "The future of transport and logistics: Transformation and Development".

Umberto de Pretto provided a global picture of decarbonisation efforts. He pointed out that although we are seeing an uptake of alternatively powered heavy-duty vehicles in some countries, there is still a long way to go.

For now, the sector needs to focus on efficiency measures - such as route optimisation, eco-trucks and eco-driving - while incorporating alternative fuels as the infrastructure progresses.

Learn more about the IRU Green Compact's research-based dual approach to decarbonisation.

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