Analysis of the international road freight transport market in Ukraine under martial law

Abstract

The article analyses the current state of the Ukrainian market of international road freight transport under martial law and describes the operational, tactical and strategic problems faced by road transport enterprises (RTEs) involved in this segment of transport. Despite the ongoing war with the russian federation and its negative impact on the Ukrainian economy, the financial and economic indicators of the domestic road transport industry demonstrate positive dynamics, especially in the segment of international road transport. An analysis of cargo transportation volumes over the past sixteen years has shown that the share of road freight in total cargo turnover has been systematically increasing. This is due to a number of global and local trends in the international freight transport market in Europe, including an increase in the volume of consumption of products by the population, growing demand for road transport services, the convenience of door-to-door delivery, the development of multimodal transport, etc., and in Ukraine, the reorientation of large volumes of agricultural products from sea to land transport. With a view to analysing the current state and forecasting further development of the Ukrainian market of international road freight transport, the article builds a SWOT-matrix, which allowed to allocate the categories relevant for domestic carriers for strategic planning. Based on the results of the analysis, it was concluded that modern geopolitical realities require the development and implementation of new scientific approaches that will ensure the competitiveness of domestic international road carriers in the context of European integration and an increased degree of protection of road transport and warehouse infrastructure.