Imports of trucks to Ukraine in January-November 2024 increased by 28.8% in monetary terms compared to the same period in 2023, to EUR834.6 million, according to statistics from the State Customs Service.
According to the data released on Monday, most of the trucks were imported from Poland – for EUR169.25 million (or 20.28% of the total import structure of such vehicles), which is 89% more than a year earlier.
Cars worth EUR103.82 million (12.4%) were imported from France, which is 25% more than in January-November 2023, and EUR90.18 million from the United States. A year earlier, the top three truck exporting countries were Poland (13.8% of total truck imports), Korea (13.5%) and France (12.8%).
Imports from other countries increased by 21.5% to EUR 471.3 million during this period.
At the same time, according to statistics, in November, Ukraine imported trucks worth EUR75.8 million, compared to EUR59.4 million in the same month last year.
Over 11 months, Ukraine exported trucks worth EUR 2.9 million, mainly to Moldova (37.4% of exports of such vehicles), Poland (15.18%) and Kazakhstan (12.6%), while a year earlier, their exports amounted to EUR 3.87 million, mainly to Armenia (32.3%), Romania (25.7%) and Turkey (16.4%).
Japan has handed over new trucks to Kherson’s utility companies, said Roman Mrochko, head of the city’s military administration. “We received the new Japanese equipment under the Grant Agreement for the Emergency Recovery Program between the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the government of Ukraine,” Mrochko said in a telegram on Saturday.
He noted that Kherson really needs such equipment and thanked international partners for their help.
More than two thousand trucks are standing in line at three directions of the Ukrainian-Polish border due to the ongoing blockade organized by Polish carriers, the spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Andriy Demchenko, said on a national telethon on Sunday morning.
“Three directions remain blocked: Rava-Ruska – Hrebenne, Krakovets – Korchova, Shehyni-Medyka… As of this morning, there are about 2,150 trucks in the queues in these three directions heading to Ukraine in Poland. Most of them are in front of Shehynia-Medica. There is traffic, but it is not as intense as it was before November 6 or November 23, when the blocking of Shehynia began,” the spokesman said.
At the same time, Demchenko emphasized that the Yahodyn-Dorohusk direction, which was unblocked on December 11, is experiencing heavy traffic of freight transport.
“Over the past day, about 1,500 trucks crossed this direction in both directions. Most of them were heading towards Ukraine. This is a very high rate of border crossing. Because the same number of trucks, even less, crossed the border before the blockade,” said the spokesman.
Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) has announced the arrival of a batch of trucks to Poland by rail from Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian and Polish parties have agreed on all issues of transportation and customs and border procedures. The trucks will continue to their destination by road,” UZ said on its Telegram channel on Sunday.
The company emphasized that the next shipments are planned to be regular and involve more modernized platforms in transportation.
UZ reminded that it had organized a container train between Ukraine and Poland to transport trucks. It runs on the route Sknyliv (Ukraine) – Slavków (Poland). To order the transportation of a truck by a container train from Ukraine, you need to contact the Liski Transport Service Center branch of Ukrzaliznytsia JSC, and in the opposite direction – UZ Cargo Poland.
As reported, UZ sent the first container train with trucks to Poland on December 7. In this way, Ukrainian exporters tried to solve the problem of crossing the Ukrainian-Polish border, which had been blocked by Polish carriers for a month.
The Union of Road Hauliers of Slovakia (UNAS) has announced its decision to resume blocking truck traffic through the Slovak border crossing point Vysne Nemecke-Uzhhorod on Monday, December 11, according to the UNAS Facebook page on Sunday.
“The Union of Road Carriers of Slovakia (UNAS) decided on 10.12.2023 to extend the protest at the Vysne Nemecke/Uzhhorod border crossing from 11.12.2023 from 15:00 until further notice,” the statement reads.
The carriers warn that they will “block the entry to the territory of the Slovak Republic for freight transportation. Personal transportation will not be restricted in any way.”
“This decision was made by the Presidium based on an assessment of the information received and its impact on the Slovak road transport market. We join the protests organized in Poland from 06.11.2023 and from 11.12.2023 also in Hungary,” UNAS said.
As of Sunday morning, December 10, about 3,500 trucks are queuing to enter Ukraine at the Ukrainian-Polish border, according to the spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGS), Andriy Demchenko.
“The situation is almost unchanged. Four directions are blocked. “Rava-Ruska – Khrebenne, Yahodyn – Dorohusk, Krakovets – Korchova, Shehyny – Medyka. As of this morning, according to the information we have from the Polish border guards, almost 3,500 trucks are in line to cross into Ukraine,” Demchenko said on the air of the national telethon on Sunday.
The SBGS spokesman noted that the largest number of trucks is opposite the Shehyni checkpoint – 1,200, and the Yahodyn checkpoint – almost 900.
“Of course, during the day there is a certain movement of trucks both entering Ukraine and leaving Ukraine in the direction of Poland, but there is no dynamics and intensity that was before November 6,” added Demchenko.
