The 22nd International Exhibition for Transport and Logistics Services and Technologies, TransRussia, has been held in Moscow in April, with integration and digitisation outlined as key trends.
International road transport association, IRU, hosted a session on the subject, outlining the prospects for enhancing competitiveness of the Russian international road transport operators to visitors and the event's official delegation, headed by the Russian Deputy Minister of Transport, Nikolay Asaul.
According to TransRussia, transportation costs account for up to 20 per cent of Russian GDP – a significant share that it says is is almost twice the global average.
“Companies working in Russia refer to high transportation costs as one of the major factors complicating their operations. Deficit of high quality transportation and logistics services from third party service providers motivates freight owners to create expensive in-house logistics departments,” TransRussia stated.
“Low efficiency of transportation sector negatively affects economic growth. World Bank estimated that 10 per cent increase in transportation efficiency could increase Russian GDP by 0.8 per cent.”
At the event, IRU General Delegate to Eurasia, Dmitry Cheltsov, put a spotlight on the role of road transport as the connector that knits all modes of transport together, from the start to the finish of every delivery chain.
Cheltsov stressed to delegates that more countries in Asia and Europe are prioritising trade and transport facilitation through harmonised UN instruments, which ultimately promote transcontinental economic integration.
The event took place at Crocus expo from 18-19 April, and counted over 300 exhibitors, including German Self-Propelled Modular Transporter (SPMT) specialists, Goldhofer, Scheuerle and Mammoet.