Serbian Association of International Road Hauliers – MT includes transport and logistics companies with more than 1,400 members.
Regardless of all the negative consequences which are the result of the coronavirus pandemic, transport, being an extended arm of production, will survive and Serbian transport companies will be ready to fulfill the needs of production companies and the needs of citizens for goods and groceries.
How important is the work of the professional organization and what are the benefits for companies?
Transport, and particularly international transport, is a very complex activity with numerous problems which resolution needs a large amount of knowledge. Furthermore, some problems are not only a matter of professional expertise and that can't be solved by individuals for their benefit. That is why it was only natural for Serbian transport companies to produce a company that will be tailored to them, by which everyone will be equal, get the same information and also the same protection, whatever the size. In every profession, some people and organizations have different interests, there's competition available on the market and we can believe that, but it's unacceptable for us that, when exercising their rights, some market participants would like to get more on surface of protecting their rights. We began with that premise and everybody soon thought about being our members. Right now we have over 1,400 members.
We constantly tell our members, and they're comfortable with that, that they must have a similar rights as all other carriers regardless of whether they're members or otherwise and they have accepted that principle. The one that wants more than others doesn't belong around, regardless of the company size. Due to the volume of work that is allocated to following all the operations that has to be performed to provide quality service, transport companies don't have time to follow all of the regulations both in our country and Europe. Therefore, the Association collects information and regularly informs its members, and frequently jumps directly into help solve issues that have occurred regardless of the location. Information is essential for every activity, and especially to have an activity by which every detail is essential for that goods to be delivered promptly. Soon after the establishment, we realized that the competitiveness of small carriers isn't the same as large ones, which will get significant discounts low cost, so that they have lower costs and market advantage. That is why we started negotiating discounts with suppliers for those members as well as in this way enabled small transport companies to possess huge discounts of the services.
What would be the current regulations in this area and what else can be done to further improve business conditions?
As far as regulations are worried, Serbia has harmonized both laws and bylaws using the European ones, but nonetheless, the company the weather is not even close to European. The carrier's income depends on the number of kilometres travelled. A transport company from Serbia cannot cover a lot more than between 6,000 and 8,000km monthly. In ideal conditions, this ought to be between 10,000 and 15,000km. The reasons for that are spending too much time at border crossings and unnecessary delays at internal customs offices. Our customs law is harmonized using the European one, it's entered into force, but it's not used in the part that directly affects the rate of transporting goods. We have to digitalize the communication with the relevant authorities. I am first and foremost talking about the Secretary of state for Construction, Transport and Infrastructure. We've jointly started introducing electronic communication and business in returning and borrowing foreign permits required for each tour.
However, the potential and importance that this type of system has and the probabilities of increasing the work and facilitating the procedures are huge. The time that would be saved can also be significant, meaning vehicles could be deployed sooner, and therefore we'd become more competitive. We hope that the growth and development of the digital communication system with the aforementioned Ministry will continue soon. Also, enabling electronic submission of documents for vehicles and drivers that are under the jurisdiction from the Interior Ministry would significantly bring about more effective operation minimizing idleness of transport vehicles. Serbian transport companies are investing a great deal in getting new transport vehicles, with the Euro-6 category vehicles mostly utilized in international transport.
Unfortunately, Serbia also has an issue with the lack of a sufficient quantity of international permits, so Serbian carriers have to open companies far away. As well as the proven fact that Serbia thus loses a certain income that'll be generated in those countries, it also loses income from the excise tax on fuel utilized by vehicles registered far away. The issue from the fuel prices, that are higher in Serbia, also results in Serbian carriers fuelling their vehicles more far away when engaging in international transport, and as a result, the Serbian stage budget gets less money from fuel excise. Although we have been highlighting that problem and asking for a rise in the refund of area of the excise tax, the state authorities didn't see eye-to-eye with us about this matter. As a consequence, there is a greater presence of transport companies using their company countries on our market, which generate income instead of us and buy fuel within their respective countries, thus filling the state budgets of their countries with excise duty funds.
How can the issue of lack of professional drivers, that was the red hot issue last year, be solved?
The lack of professional drivers is a concern in most countries that has been present for quite a long time. However , everyone wants a ready-trained driver, not really a beginner who has not yet undergone any training or is unaware of whether he desires to be considered a driver in international transport. Experienced drivers are utilized to standing on the street and away from their own families, and that is why carriers in the West are recruiting our drivers and non-EU drivers. Our Association began with driver training, but in addition to using a lot of people interested in re-training, there is also a problem of financing, on one side, and the problem of uncertainty among students as to whether this is the right profession for them. With no state's help, whether it is helping with funds for re-training or promoting it through dual education in vocational high schools, this problem can't be alleviated. In order to alleviate the issues in Serbia, the state's help could be needed in lowering the waiting time at borders and completely changing the customs system (which is possible in practice and prescribed legally). By implementing these measures, our drivers could generate the same amount of money here, in our country, as in the Western countries, and they'd not go near other countries because they offer a higher salary.
An additional problem is developed by the requirement of a driver, who completes driving lessons at driving school and passes the test of driving ability for that required categories, to also undergo initial training to qualify as a professional driver. This is a model and prerequisite in the EU that we needed to implement in our country, there would be nothing wrong with this if the new driver did not have to pay additional 140,000 dinars, that is currently the price of this mandatory initial learning our country. We feel the state authorities must react because we'll soon remain without candidates for professional drivers due to economically difficult conditions for young adults who're fitness instructor truck drivers.
The coronavirus has stopped many industries in their tracks. What problems do transport company owners and drivers face and just how much can border closures jeopardize normal supply?
The coronavirus has created major problems in the organization of transport. Within the early on, because of the incompetence of the relevant authorities in all countries, the choices made were often contradictory and inconsistent, even though it was clear that everyone was conscious that transport must not stop, which goods, especially food for that population, should be transported unhindered. The borders were never really closed, but frequent delays resulted in a slowdown in transport and made it even more complicated for drivers. Border traffic jams still exist but they don't jeopardize normal supply but only prolong transport times and also the normal work cycle of drivers. This makes the job of transport companies more difficult and far costlier.
What is your assessment of the impact of the coronavirus on the transport industry and what consequences do you anticipate seeing?
Transport is so closely associated with production that the consequences the coronavirus has left on production are also felt by the transport sector. Just as different activities may take a hit differently, transport companies also feel the effects based on what they're transporting. Probably the most affected are transporters that provide the automotive industry. They've experienced a 30-35% decline in the work volume, while transporters that have a number of customers have observed a 20-25% decline. The reason why with this decline are the delays at the borders, not enough goods for return routes along with a drop in prices as a result of the shortage of goods. The decline in transportation prices will hit carriers the toughest, and we estimate that most carriers can finish the entire year with the loss.
