IRU, the world road transport organisation, has published its 2024 annual report, highlighting key achievements in advancing safe, efficient and sustainable road transport during a challenging year.
Following member approval of the organisation¡¯s 2024 financial accounts today at its General Assembly, the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½annual report is now available online.
The report presents notable outcomes ¨C in terms of advocacy, the TIR system, certification and standards, intelligence and events ¨C globally and across seven strategic regions.
The central theme of this year¡¯s report is resilience, as underlined by ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½President Radu Dinescu in his foreword, ¡°Looking back on 2024, one word stands out: resilience. In a fast-changing world, our industry must continue to deliver safe, efficient and green mobility and logistics. This is our business and passion. But it is also a deep responsibility: people, communities and economies depend on us.
¡°Resilience is not just talk. For road transport, it means that millions of buses, coaches, taxis, trucks and vans run 24/7 in local and global networks that are robust and stable, but at the same time, agile and able to rapidly adapt to change.¡±
IRU¡¯s 2024 milestones
Safe
- Certifying 31,836 transport professionals globally.
- Expanding the certification and standards platform to offer a fully digital service for governments with ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Examiner.
- Helping secure EUR 320 million in EU funding for expanding and upgrading secure truck parking areas.
Efficient
- Opening five IRU-accredited TIR logistics hubs in major inland trade cities across China, consolidating all essential TIR and transit services under one roof.
- Enhancing cross-border TIR movements in Eurasia, establishing TIR Green Lanes and windows in Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan.
- Increasing TIR volumes in the Gulf Cooperation Council region by 500%.
Green
- Addressing the UN General Assembly on critical actions to continue advancing the sustainability of road transport and its role in global development.
- Helping shape the EU¡¯s CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles, advocating for a technology-neutral and practical approach to decarbonisation.
- Outlining measures to make the Middle Corridor more sustainable to ministers and international representatives at COP29.
Closing the report, ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Secretary General Umberto de Pretto reflects on the road ahead, ¡°The only thing that is certain is that uncertainty is here to stay. The key to reinforcing the resilience of road transport is tackling our industry¡¯s most critical issues ¨C driver shortages, decarbonisation and digitalisation ¨C in a sensible and pragmatic way.¡±