IRU Road Transport Indices show that Jordan and other countries in the Middle East are on the road to success, but more needs to be done to facilitate trade and international road transport and therefore foster economic development.

Amman - IRU Road Transport Indices, an online data source allowing the comparison of GDP growth, road freight transport volumes and new vehicle registrations in 62 countries* - now including quarterly forecasts for four additional countries in the Middle East, namely Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates - show that countries in the Middle East are on the right track, but more needs to be done to facilitate trade and international road transport, specifically by implementing key UN multilateral trade and road transport facilitation and security instruments, such as the Harmonization and TIR Conventions.

IRU Head of Sustainable Development, Jens Hügel, said, “On the occasion of the 7th IRU Euro-Asian Road Transport Conference in Amman, Jordan, from 11-12 June 2013, the IRU has included four additional Middle East countries in the IRU Indices. From the analysis of these country figures it is clear that, although regional trends and political developments have an important influence on the figures, the general trend in Middle East countries follows the development of BRIC countries”. 

In Jordan, for example, GDP rose by 3.2% in 2012 and road transport operators carried 4.4% more volume (in tonnes) in 2012. Furthermore, GDP will increase in 2013 again by 3.3% and road transport operators will carry 3.6% more tonnage in 2013.

Similarly, IRU Indices show that GDP in booming economies of BRIC countries** rose by 5.3% in 2012 and road transport operators carried 6.2% more volume (in tonnes) in 2012. Furthermore, GDP will increase in 2013 by 5.9% and road transport operators will carry 6.7% more tonnage in 2013.

Contrary to this positive trend, IRU Indices for the EU - where road transport performance in tonnes transported stagnates since 2012 - show that the GDP has contracted again (double dip recession) by 0.3% in 2012 and in 2013 economic growth is currently stagnating, thereby confirming the indisputable correlation between road transport and economic growth.

Mr Hügel concluded, “In today’s globalised economy, professional road transport is no longer merely a mode of transport, but has become a vital production tool in every supply and logistics chain, driving economic, social and environmental progress throughout the world. To allow countries in the Middle East to further catch up with the development in BRIC countries it will be imperative to effectively facilitate international road transport in the region by implementing tried and tested multilateral trade and road transport facilitation instruments such as the UN Harmonization and TIR Conventions”.

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*Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Macedonia (FYROM), Morocco, Moldova, The Netherlands, Norway, People's Republic of China, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uzbekistan.

** Brazil, Russian Federation, India, People's Republic of China