International Road Freight

Apart from domestic operations, international road transport services between neighbouring countries are widespread in the world and are in many cases relatively similar to domestic road transport.

In addition to road transport activity between adjacent countries, there is significant road traffic between countries within regions that lie further afield. As is the case with rail transport, considerable use is made of road transport to provide services between an inland location and a port of import and/or export. These mainly comprise the carriage of standard intermodal containers.

In view thereof that rail transport enjoys high economies of distance, such road transport services are normally provided over substantially shorter distances than rail services, or in cases where the facility of the importer/exporter is not located close to a rail terminal.

However, there are additional arrangements required to create efficient and effective cross-border road transport. These include standardisation and harmonisation of road traffic conventions and regulations, and vehicle technologies.

The most pertinent factors that require standardising and harmonising in international road transport are:

• the adoption of compatible traffic management systems, especially relating to vehicle roadworthiness, vehicle and driver licensing, gross vehicle and axle mass limits, and maximum vehicle dimensions;
• border-crossing arrangements and dwell time caused by customs policies;
• traffic signage and control;
• road design standards, e.g. minimum pavement strengths to allow for heavy hauls, and minimum lane widths to allow for the transport of large freight items;
• truck stops and resting facilities for crew;
• the availability of emergency and communication operations and systems; and
• vehicle repairs, maintenance, recovery and other emergency services.

International road transport operations have been influenced to a large extent by the formation of regional trading blocs. Area-wise the three largest regional trading blocs are the European Union (EU), the signatories of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The countries in the European Union (EU) have an extensive and unified road network, and they have extended road transport agreements with most former East Bloc and Soviet Union countries. The North American countries of Canada, Mexico and the United States have a unified and extensive road system.

The SADC countries have a linked road network. The SADC is a regional economic community comprising 15 member states, all of them bound by agreement to road traffic harmonisation. Three member countries are island states, but the 12 contiguous continental states of Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe are all linked by a road network. However, the trip times and service reliability of cross-border road freight transport services in the region are currently hampered as result of border posts between some countries that are not continuously open, and prolonged customs and border control procedures that occur, despite the fact that the SADC member countries have committed themselves to harmonious cooperation within regional road transport.