Trucking business. Is there a benefit? Freight transportation as a business: problems and prospects Libra is always with you

Cargo transportation is a business for a narrow circle of people

This is partly true. To enter the market, you need to invest a lot of money - buy cars and trailers, find and train staff, buy/rent sites for storing trucks. In order for a company to operate effectively, it is imperative to hire a professional logistician.

After the abolition of carrier licensing, many people rushed into this sector who previously had no experience with transport. To break into the market, such people choose a dumping scheme, thereby reducing their income, as well as destroying the established course of things. In addition, a significant increase in the number of intermediary companies has upset the balance of supply and demand. The illusion of market oversaturation with affordable transport has been created. All this led to the fact that a number of cargo carriers began to sell their vehicles to inexperienced market players, assuring them of the incredible profitability of this business. Well, in fact, profitability in this area is not so high.

The dispatcher will refund the cost of the cargo if it is damaged/lost

This statement is true for small and inexpensive cargo. If the cost is calculated not in thousands, but in millions, then the probability of compensation for losses sharply approaches zero. And even if the court recognized your right to receive funds, the dispatcher will not be able to pay - he does not have that much money in his assets. That's why banks don't give loans to dispatchers.

“Recovering” the cost of lost cargo through transportation is not at all an option. Real carriers, without receiving compensation from the dispatcher, will turn to the real payer.

If the dispatcher has insurance, this is a guarantee of compensation for losses

Many dispatchers take pride in carrying liability insurance. Policies are provided upon concluding a transaction as a talisman against all misfortunes on the road.

But is it as easy to get an insurance payment as it sounds? Unfortunately no. The terms of the insurance contract are very strict and even the slightest deviation from the prescribed conditions means that the case will be considered not insurable. And this entails the insurer’s refusal to compensate for losses. In addition, some contract terms cannot be verified. This means compliance with the driver’s work schedule, speed limits, driver rest in special guarded parking lots, and adherence to the route.

Today I would like to start a conversation on a topic that interests many people who are planning to get into the transport business. Its organization requires a special, responsible approach. Before starting work in this industry, every future businessman must conduct a thorough market analysis and draw up a cargo transportation business plan for himself. Those who don't know where to start, They ask a logical question: is it profitable to engage in cargo transportation?

This article is devoted to the answer to this question, in which I will try to express my attitude and opinion on this problem, taking into account modern Russian realities.

Superficial analysis of the cargo transportation market

Before discussing the benefits of the cargo transportation business, it is necessary to analyze it a little. Only after this can we say how profitable it is to be a freight dispatcher or cargo carrier.

If we compare data for 2012 and 2013, the difference in cargo turnover is not too large (about 4%). At the moment I do not have more accurate indicators. That is why, if an entrepreneur plans to engage in any specific type of cargo transportation, then he it is necessary to explore a narrower scope of the transport market.

Transportation of products is not only transportation by any particular type of transport. Although, in general, the cargo transportation market is divided into several segments: air transportation, sea transportation, delivery of goods by rail, transportation of products by car.

When analyzing the cargo transportation market, each of the listed segments can be divided into several more parts. For example, transportation of products by road is divided into Gazelles, trucks, car transporters, special equipment, etc. Each of these parts, in turn, has its own subgroups. It must be said that large and small products can also be divided into various classifications and groups. For example, the Gazelle can be refrigerated, or can be a tented one, or even a Gazelle-pyramid. Each subgroup has its own number of carriers, whose activities must be taken into account when analyzing the cargo transportation market. This article simply tries to convey a general algorithm for correct and confident actions when trying to create a transport company. The future carrier must find for himself the answer to the question of how profitable it is for him to engage in this type of business.

So, in connection with the not too fast, but nevertheless confident development of the transportation market, the future entrepreneur must collect all the information about the industry in which he is going to become a participant.

Trucking business: Opinion of others

Many people believe that any activity can bring positive results if they work every day. In their opinion, if a person has determination and perseverance, then it will be profitable for him to engage in cargo transportation.

According to another group of people, the cargo delivery business, of course, requires considerable investment, but the profit from it is also quite large.

People who are far from this business believe that transportation is a very simple type of activity. People forget that the cost of fuel alone can be considerable. As you know, prices for diesel fuel today are growing with frightening consistency. And if an entrepreneur has several vehicles, then they require maintenance of personnel, repair bays, parking spaces, mechanic’s wages and many other constantly increasing costs. All this must be taken into account when drawing up a cargo transportation plan. Another thing is that currently there are many professional freight dispatchers who are able to help transport workers in providing loads. But their services are also not free, so contacting a dispatcher is another cost item.

There are different opinions among carriers about their own work. Some may say that the cargo transportation business is a thankless task, the income from which is only enough for the bare necessities, and sometimes you even have to make tough savings. Other cargo carriers keep the secrets of their own business to themselves and will never share its secrets. However, among representatives of this activity there are also those who willingly help their novice colleagues with advice.

In general, we can say that public opinion is inclined to believe that the cargo transportation business is a fairly profitable and promising activity, which is definitely worth trying if you have the proper capabilities and desires.

Trucking Business: Personal Experience

Most often, the personal experience of other carriers pushes the aspiring entrepreneur to greater zeal and hard work. It shows that with the right attitude towards business and avoiding the mistakes of colleagues, transportation activities can become a very profitable activity.

It all started before the crisis began. In the spring of 2008, I was the manager of the Spectr trading company, located in the small town of Uyar. My main profile was to attract more clients. The work brought a stable income, but left a lot of free time. It was at this time that I started thinking about starting my own trucking business.

I had only one car (a new Maz) and a used semi-trailer of 90 cubic meters with an awning and canopies. At that time, I had not even heard of the site (Ati.su). Our first flight was the transportation of cargo from Uyar to the nearby city of Krasnoyarsk. There we were able to find customers who needed cargo delivery in the direction we needed. After the first flight, another order appeared, and then another and another. Within a year, we acquired another truck, and then began loading foreign vehicles at a rate of 2-3 vehicles per day. After another 2 years, our fleet already contained 4 units of freight vehicles. In addition, the daily loading of external transport did not stop. The path to success was accompanied by ups and downs, It was especially difficult for us in the early stages. But everyday hard labor and faith in one’s own strength did their job. Every day our work became more and more confident.

I will not go into the smallest details of starting a transport business. The only thing I want to say is: With proper motivation and efficiency, everything should work out for you.

From all of the above, we can conclude that cargo transportation can very well turn into a profitable business if you approach its organization responsibly and with due diligence. In addition, you must be an enterprising person and be able to communicate well with people. If all these conditions are met, cargo transportation will bring the entrepreneur a stable and high income.

Video: Cargo transportation business, how to organize

Here we consider only the problems of small businesses that participate in the transportation of goods along the roads of RUSSIA. This is a subjective opinion and may not fully reflect the views of market participants, or may even contradict them.

Primary problems in cargo transportation for small businesses:

1. Incompetence and financial illiteracy of some participants in the cargo transportation market;
2. Value added tax, its impact on the freight market
3. Aging of the vehicle fleet of transportation participants;
4. Price competition, dumping by cargo carriers market participants;
5. Dialogue with authorities.

Secondary problems in cargo transportation for small businesses, although these are the problems that concern the majority of carriers in the first place:

1. System of collecting funds to compensate for damage to the roadway “Platon”;
2. Tachographic control;
3. Weight and dimensional control.

Consideration of the main problems in cargo transportation for small businesses in more detail.

1. Incompetence and financial illiteracy of some participants in the cargo transportation market.

The illiteracy of some “entrepreneurs” involved in cargo transportation by road is as follows: there is no clear understanding of the basic principles of work. These “entrepreneurs” cannot calculate the cost of work.

Accordingly, the calculations of such entrepreneurs look approximately as follows:

A) freight cost - diesel fuel = if the remaining amount is more than 0, then you have earned, otherwise you have lost

B) freight cost – diesel fuel – food – overhead costs = see point “A”

C) distance X fuel consumption X cost of a liter of fuel X 3 = they try to leave according to the amount obtained as a result of the calculation.

These are just three freight cost calculation options that some carriers use. In fact, there are many more payment options; I have even met those who do not use any payment options at all, but travel for the amount offered by the dispatcher.

This raises a very funny question at first glance, which is very common among those who want to try to start a business in cargo transportation - which tractor (car) to buy. Where is your calculation, fellow entrepreneurs?

If you conduct even a superficial analysis of the cargo transportation market, it will become clear that there is no fundamental difference. There are some deviations in the operating costs of servicing equipment, but their impact is not so obvious if you make a competent cost calculation. This is where concepts such as return trips and rides are formed.

Based on what is described in this paragraph, we can draw an intermediate conclusion: it is very difficult to make money when the final price for a service, being equal or with slight deviations in the price of the costs of providing this service, is formed practically with the help of a shamanic tambourine.

If there are difficulties with calculating the cost, then you can start with this.

1. Value added tax

The problem with value added tax “VAT” lies in the following:

A) The impossibility of individual entrepreneurs working with organizations, since a large number of entrepreneurs engaged in the field of cargo transportation work under the patent system or on UTII. These taxation systems do not involve working with VAT. This, in turn, makes cooperation between organizations working with VAT and representatives of small businesses unprofitable.

But as always, if something doesn’t work out, then there is someone who can help. This is where assistant dispatchers come into the picture.

B) Dispatchers are not only those people who, for their “interest”, can bring together the participants in the chain of cargo owner – cargo carrier – consignee. They take on the role of a company that transfers money with VAT into money without VAT. Where the VAT goes in this case is unknown.

There are enough platforms on the Internet where the cargo owner - cargo carrier - consignee can find each other, but this is of little use. Due to the use of different taxation, their interaction is practically excluded. This is why there are such a large number of intermediaries on platforms intended for direct cooperation.

Brief summary: carriers can also use a taxation system that allows them to work with VAT, but this incurs additional financial costs in the form of creating jobs for accountants. The use of such systems can only be effective if there is a large fleet of vehicles, which is clearly beyond the scope of small businesses.

1. Aging fleet of transportation participants

The fleet of carriers in Russia is very diverse, ranging from vintage domestic trucks to almost new modern equipment. Exemplary, average The age of the vehicle fleet of individual entrepreneurs involved in the transportation of goods is more than 10 years.

This state of affairs is due to a number of reasons:

A) lack of funds to purchase new commercial equipment. This is a consequence of the phenomena described above.

B) inability to attract credit funds for small businesses: there are no available lending and leasing programs.

1. Price competition, dumping of cargo carrier market participants.

As follows from the definition of the word dumping, it is price competition, the essence of which comes down to selling goods and services below cost, which is aimed at conquering new markets and gaining economic advantages.

What is happening in the cargo transportation market cannot be called dumping. To engage in dumping, you need to know the cost of work and services and have a goal of capturing the market. This point is impossible to implement, since the first point states that some market participants cannot calculate the cost of the services they provide.

Some market participants are clearing the way with their own hands for those who will come in their place. This is only a consequence of the financial policy pursued by some transportation participants, because their cars, which are essentially fixed assets, do not last forever.

1. Dialogue with authorities.

Once I managed to take part in a dialogue with the authorities. True, calling this a dialogue would be a huge stretch. Representatives of the authorities in this dialogue had their own goals - to force them to accept the point of view of the legislator and remain in their warm chairs. Needless to say, government officials were not interested in the problems of market participants. Representatives of the authorities did not ask a single question regarding the nature of the current situation. Although, logically, the main task of government officials is to make sure that citizens live better. The arguments of representatives of the cargo transportation market were not heard. According to reports, a dialogue has been held, everyone agrees with everything. This state of affairs, at a minimum, shows the incompetence of people holding responsible positions.

Secondary issues that put significant pressure on small shippers.

This list of problems causes the most intense emotions among cargo carriers, since they have to deal with them every day.

1. System of collecting funds to compensate for damage to the roadway “Platon”.

A system for collecting funds to compensate for damage provided to the road surface from vehicles with a permissible weight of more than 12 tons, hereinafter referred to as “PLATON”.

“Plato” raises a number of questions for the carrier:

A.) This system places a significant burden on individual entrepreneurs working in the cargo transportation market, since they are not able in the current situation to shift these costs to the transportation customer. This situation takes its roots from the first point of the cargo carrier's primary problems.

B.) The second most popular question is the timeliness of this system, why the system was launched at such an inopportune time. The launch of the system coincided with a deep crisis in the country's economy. The cargo transportation market, in particular individual carriers, felt it very acutely.

C.) The third question that concerns market participants is why the economic justification with calculations of the harm of “trucks” is not available for free viewing. It is possible that familiarization with the calculations will remove a number of questions, and perhaps give rise to a number of new questions. It is possible that taxpayer money has run out. Therefore, there is no way to familiarize interested parties with the calculations; people must see these figures and calculations. People have enough education to draw appropriate conclusions, because the majority received it at a time when it was of high quality.

1. Tachographic control.

There is also confusion with tachographic control, which creates the following questions:

A.) The cost of equipment for monitoring compliance with RTO.

B.) Incompetence of employees monitoring compliance with RTO.

C.) There is an almost universal lack of infrastructure for compliance with RTOs.

1. Weight and dimensional control

Weight and dimensional control, in the form in which it now exists, is aimed at destroying the small business of cargo transportation in Russia. Which automatically creates a lot of questions:

A.) Amounts of fines for violations, lack of the concept of presumption of innocence. There is no way to prove innocence in court. A couple of weight and size fines can bring almost any small cargo carrier to its knees and drive it out of the market.

B.) Substitution of tasks for maintaining the roadway with tasks for collecting fines, as well as personal enrichment of dishonest employees.

C.) Lack of ability for cargo carriers to control axle load.

Bottom line. Small cargo carriers are on the verge of bankruptcy, “Platon” was the last straw from which the cup of patience ran out. Now almost every carrier understands that something needs to be changed, but what? Perhaps now is the time to suspend the effect of “Plato” and other innovations. Enter into dialogue with market participants. Come to an understanding of the industry’s problems and begin to jointly solve them. Now is the time to work together.

Thank you for your time, you can express your thoughts in comments.

As experts predicted, the Russian cargo transportation market has suffered greatly from recent events in Russia and in the world as a whole. This was also led to by the fall of the Russian ruble, which either pauses or continues again. And dumping in the cargo transportation market. In recent years, a huge number of companies offering cargo transportation services have appeared, and young organizations often unreasonably reduce prices in pursuit of building a customer base.

The food embargo also contributed a lot to this situation. Many cargo carriers have simply lost their main source of income.

Those who remain in the market are having a very, very difficult time. And the situation is not expected to improve. Most likely, the situation will only get worse with the introduction of some new legislation. Firstly, this is a toll on federal highways for trucks weighing over 12 tons (possibly for vehicles over 3.5 tons). Secondly, this is a ban on Euro-1, Euro-2 and Euro-3. This is done in order to improve the environment and the quality of the road surface. Thirdly, this is a new tax on the production of petroleum products, which will lead to a jump in fuel prices.

In the Urals, local companies are already sounding the alarm: they have been almost completely supplanted by foreign cargo carriers. They offer customers better prices due to the fact that the service has already paid for itself due to the flight from west to east. The share of Ural companies now accounts for only 29% of all transportation. Local carriers are indignant that even state-owned companies are in no hurry to support them, giving their preference, as they also strive to save money without making far-reaching plans and prospects.

Since significant support from the state is not expected in this area, freight forwarding companies have to survive by reducing costs as much as possible. This is the only way they can offer attractive prices in the face of dumping and fierce competition. One alternative method is to equip the fleet with small trucks with optimized fuel consumption. These can be found from the company Saphireavto. It offers new trucks of excellent quality from the most famous Korean manufacturers. This technology will not only help to provide quality services to customers. But it will also allow us to bypass a number of negative phenomena that are observed in the field of cargo transportation.

How to protect yourself from unscrupulous carriers? How to make the road freight market transparent? These and many other issues were discussed at the conference “Road Freight Transportation Market”.

Increasing the transparency of the road freight transportation market, creating common rules of the game for all participants in the transportation process, ensuring the interests of both the road transport business and the state - this is not a complete list of topics that were raised at the “Road Freight Transportation Market” conference, which was held for the second time.

But before delving into specific industry topics, let’s analyze the general state of the road transportation market.

Market inefficiency

The market is highly fragmented - the leading players from the top 10 in Russia account for only 16% of all traffic. And in the EU countries, large carriers account for 25 to 40% of the market. According to incomplete data (the lack of reliable statistics is also a problem in the commercial transport market), there are only 10 companies in Russia, and this is only 8% of the total number, which can be classified as large. The size of the vast majority of automobile enterprises can be judged by the size of their fleets. According to MegaResearch, more than 90% of carriers own fewer than 50 trucks. And very often, in their organizational form, they belong to individual entrepreneurs.

Again, according to incomplete data, the average age of trucks is 19 years, 55% of trucks are over 10 years old. Large companies have a younger fleet of vehicles – from 5 years and older. The dominance of small players and individual entrepreneurs does not allow attracting borrowed capital. And if the freight transportation market is not interesting to the banking sector, then it is deprived of a powerful source of financing.

A common problem in the market is the difficulty in recruiting personnel.

Professional drivers are mainly represented by older people; the driving profession is not prestigious among young people.

Thus, on the one hand, there is a fragmented market, an old fleet, difficulties with staffing, and on the other, growing requirements for the range, quality and safety of services from both shippers and consignees. E-commerce is growing, demand for logistics services is increasing (faster and on time), and requirements for the preparation of accounting documents are growing. In addition, the effect of introducing the Platon system is manifested, and tax administration is being strengthened. The implementation of a weight and dimensional control system gives practical results.

The road freight transportation sector has the largest number of small and medium-sized businesses when compared with other segments of the transport sector. An ever-increasing transportation distance (by 2-3 thousand km), a low barrier to entry into the market, the ability to work “in the gray zone”, the demand for a service without which not a single transportation process can be completed - all this taken together makes the commercial transportation market attractive . Service repair companies are growing like mushrooms around motor transport enterprises, that is, a multiplying effect is ensured. But experts are sounding the alarm and talking about the oversupply and inefficiency of the existing cargo transportation market.

Indeed, the fleet of commercial vehicles in the country is expanding every year and currently totals 6.4 million units. Compared to the 2000 fleet, it increased by 1.5 times, and with the 1990 fleet - by more than 2.2 times, although the volume of transportation decreased almost three times, and cargo turnover - by 20%.

The problems of the country's truck transport include the non-compliance of the vehicle fleet with modern requirements and operating conditions. According to the Interindustry Expert Council for the Development of the Freight Automotive and Road Industry (MOES), half of the truck fleet is not in demand, a significant part of them is included in the category of depreciated assets and should be immediately written off. The structure of the vehicle fleet by body type, load capacity, quality and type of fuel consumed is characterized as imperfect; The level of compliance with environmental standards Euro-4, Euro-5 and Euro-6 remains very low (about 10%).

Almost 60% of the truck fleet is in the personal use of individuals who do not have sufficient resources, primarily financial.

And this leads to the aging of the vehicle fleet due to the deterioration of its technical condition due to the destruction of the maintenance and repair system, as well as the development of the “shadow” market system.

The introduction of the Platon system and the automated weight and dimensional control system revealed another problem in the cargo transportation market.

The development of freight road transport over the past decades has been characterized by the disaggregation of public transport enterprises and the switching of significant volumes of cargo transportation to the own transport of enterprises and organizations using it for their own needs. The size of the truck fleet in the country is constantly growing, but in large specialized public transport enterprises the number of vehicles has decreased significantly, while at the same time the fleet of individual entrepreneurs and other individuals has increased several times.

As a result, today the share of commercial transportation of goods carried out on the basis of a contract for transportation by road transport accounts for about 30% of the total volume of transportation and approximately 52% of cargo turnover. Such transportation is regulated mainly by the Charter of Road Transport and Urban Ground Electric Transport. At the same time, the problem of regulating the transportation of goods for one’s own needs, including the issue of limiting the acquisition of any trucks by individuals into private ownership, has not yet been resolved and is still very relevant. Taking into account the significant strengthening of government regulation in the use of the most powerful fleet of vehicles, which ensures the transportation of up to 75% of road freight and has the greatest destructive impact on the country's road network, it is advisable, according to industry experts, to exclude the possibility of private ownership of large-tonnage trucks by individuals.

The abolition of the licensing system for freight vehicles in 2005 without an alternative solution to the issue of admitting owners of freight vehicles to the market of motor transport services, an excess of the vehicle fleet, and insufficient control on the country’s roads led to the development of a “shadow” market

provision of such services, reaching 70% of the total volume of cargo transportation in some transport hubs and regions (such data are provided by specialists from JSC NIIAT). And this, in turn, leads to significant reductions in budget revenues from the freight sub-industry, a decrease in labor productivity and the quality of transport services to consumers. To this should be added the proliferation of “hypothetical” companies, “fly-by-night companies,” outright dumping, that is, everything that should not exist on a civilized market.

A ban on the purchase by individuals of trucks weighing more than 12 tons can hardly be considered a market impact measure. And part of the motor transport community, primarily individual entrepreneurs, cannot agree with this. But if uniform requirements in terms of technical inspection, medical examination, compliance with legislation, and general work standards are applied to individuals and legal entities engaged in cargo transportation, regardless of their organizational and legal form or fleet size, then the problem will be solved. And Nikolai Asaul, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, who spoke at the conference, informed its participants that in December 2017, Federal Law No. 398 was adopted, which amends the federal law on road safety, establishing uniform rules of the game for all cargo carriers. A year is given to prepare for the entry into force of this law, and from December 2018 the road transport community will have to work according to uniform rules.

A rhetorical question

The question asked by Vladimir Matyagin, president of the Gruzavtotrans association, can be attributed precisely to this category: who is responsible for the development of freight transport? And if at the federal level there is an executive body represented by the Ministry of Transport, which includes the Department of State Policy in the field of automobile and urban passenger transport, then, for example, even in such a significant subject of the Russian Federation as St. Petersburg, the Transport Committee pursues state policy in in the field of urban and suburban transport, external transport (except for freight road transport), as well as intercity and international passenger road transport and coordinates the activities of other executive bodies of state power in St. Petersburg in this area, that is, freight transport “on the ground” of its coordinating body does not have.

The main problems of the industry, according to the head of the association, for the state come down to incomplete payment of taxes, high accident rates, and non-compliance with current legislation. Several tens of millions of people involved in cargo transportation live in conditions of instability. And this is already a problem for society, that is, a social one.

Business problems are associated with unfair competition, dumping, lack of a training system for truck drivers, etc.

The system of control over compliance with legislation does not have a territorial vertical. Low barriers to entry into the market lead to unfair competition, a decrease in the quality of services and the level of safety.

As an option to solve problems, the association proposes to create a unified management system for the freight transport industry,

which will be able to calculate the impact of the industry on the economy of both the country and the cargo carrier itself. At the same time, it is necessary to introduce regulations for access to the domestic road freight transportation market. It is assumed that the carrier must be included in the Unified Register, as well as annual confirmation of compliance with mandatory requirements. As an example, we can use the mechanism for admission to international road transport, where since 1998 Federal Law 127-FZ “On state control over the implementation of international road transport and liability for violation of the procedure for their implementation” has been in force, as well as the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated October 16, 2001 “ On approval of the Regulations on the admission of Russian carriers to international road transport.”

The introduced regulations will not only improve the climate in the domestic transportation market, but will also bring national legal norms closer to international ones, the president of Gruzavtotrans believes.

Trust but check

Elena Cherkalina, head of the procurement group for transport services at GEFCO, spoke about measures to avoid cargo losses and violations of contract terms during transportation. The risks faced by cargo owners and logisticians are clear and boil down to the following:

– “gray” carriers, dumping and saving on taxes;

– low quality of work;

– old vehicles with a low toxicity class;

– “chains” when using third parties and the inability to identify the direct contractor;

– tax risks of the cargo owner himself.

Is it possible to avoid these troubles and how to check the counterparty? The development of modern information technologies allows the use of new methods during inspections. For example, such as: matching IP addresses during correspondence; checking the connections of the company, founders and participants (including family and “historical” connections); cash flow in bank accounts; the reality of signatures of authorized persons; fact of service provision (checking the transportation route and its reality in relation to transport documents); availability of all transportation documents, properly executed; physical presence of an office, staff, resource to provide the service.

If you, as a cargo owner, do not want to get caught when transporting your cargo, do not be lazy to create a carrier dossier.

At a minimum, you should be interested in data on vehicles (age and class) and drivers. It would be a good idea to have a preliminary meeting with the carrier, as well as check that their phone numbers and office addresses are up to date. Publications in the media and reviews of work will help you create a preliminary “portrait” of your carrier.

Familiarization with the statutory documents and mandatory accounting reporting forms will complement your understanding of your business partner.

Existing risk management systems will allow you to objectively evaluate the carrier. The main thing is not to neglect these procedures and not hope for chance.

In any case, such facts as the existence of a company for less than a year, the process of its reorganization, the opening of bankruptcy proceedings for one of them, blocking of accounts, being on the “black” list of disqualified persons, the presence of court injunctions, etc. should be alarming. low prices for services compared to the market average.

According to experts, the systemic transformation of the industry will last 3–5 years. The introduction of state information systems for monitoring the activities of carriers (Platon, ASVGK, ERA-GLONASS) and the desire of the majority of carriers to work efficiently, safely and stably will make the cargo transportation market truly a market. In the meantime, business partners must trust each other, but check...

Libra is always with you

Before moving on to the issue of weight and dimensional control, let me give an example from the speech of a representative of RD Group LLC from St. Petersburg. So, in 2016, a car weighing 210 tons was detained on one of the federal highways! The damage caused by this truck is comparable to the damage caused to the road surface by 60 thousand passenger cars.

Of course, this case is unique, but, according to NIIAT specialists, the amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses in force since January 1, 2015, introducing fines for exceeding the permitted axle load standards, do not fully take into account the peculiarities of the country’s road network, the main parameters of which, as a rule, are designed for movement of vehicles with an axle weight of up to six tons. The length of such roads in our country is at least 75% of the entire road network.

Today, not all carriers transporting goods exceeding the established standards for the total weight and axle loads of the vehicle acquire the paid special permits provided for in such cases. Thus, the number of trips for the transportation of heavy cargo in 2017 amounted to 446 thousand. In total, 306 thousand permits were issued, of which 252 thousand were for large vehicles, and 52 thousand for heavy vehicles.

The result is significant damage to the country's road network without adequate compensation. According to specialists of road organizations, the estimated damage from exceeding the established weight standards on the country's road network (about 2.6 trillion rubles) is twice the total value of all road funds.

According to the “law of the fourth degree”, the destructive force acting on the roadway increases more intensely than the degree of excess of the axial load. Thus, when the standard axial load is exceeded by 10%, the force acting on the road surface increases by 46%, by 50% - by 406%, or more than five times. The movement of a loaded vehicle with a ten-ton axle load on a road designed for six-ton ​​axle loads will cause an almost eightfold increase in the degree of wear and destruction of the roadway compared to the movement of a vehicle with an axle load of six tons.

According to the state, as the main regulator, the amount of punishment should not only correct the situation in the industry, but also at the same time ensure the flow of funds for its development. Let us remind you that for exceeding the permitted axle load standards, a fine is imposed for a 5% excess (previously the limit was 15%).

In addition, a fine for exceeding the axle load does not exclude punishment for the overall overload of the vehicle, which is why the total amount of damage for causing harm to Russian roads with the new calculation method (depending on the region and time of year) can simply bankrupt a small enterprise. Moreover, it becomes more difficult to evade control over axle loads thanks to stationary posts of automatic weight and dimensional control (ASVGK).

The system is designed to provide not only accurate measurement of the weight and dimensions of vehicles, but also their photo and video recording with recognition of the state registration plate. It allows you to weigh vehicles at speeds of up to 150 km/h and up to 200 tons with a total weight.

To fully cover the entire network of federal highways of the Russian Federation, it will be necessary to create about 8 control points for every 1000 km of highways. For comparison, there are more than 900 control points in the United States.

It is expected that in Russia about 125 fixed points will be deployed as part of the weight and size control system by mid-2018.

By this time, Rosavtodor plans to commission more than 50 new weight and dimensional control points in addition to the 74 already operating. The cost of equipping each is from 20 to 40 million rubles.

Despite a number of government measures, according to expert estimates, more than 30% of freight vehicles are overloaded. Meanwhile, everyone is interested in the development of systems for monitoring cargo parameters - the state, manufacturers of control systems, and the motor transport enterprises themselves.

But if the benefits of the first two categories are clear, then what is the interest of carriers?

More and more transport enterprises perceive control over cargo parameters as a conscious necessity.

Thus, on-board weighing control systems, as the most promising today, due to their direct installation on board the vehicle, allow for control during loading, unloading and throughout the entire transport route,

that is, “the scales are always with you.” And for carriers of certain types of cargo, they simply cannot do without them.

For example, with regard to bulk cargo (crushed stone, sand, expanded clay, etc.), the main problem is low rates for the transportation of “bulk”. At the current market price, driving without overload means working only for fuel and the driver’s salary.

In addition, the process of moving inert (bulk) cargo in the body while the vehicle is moving often leads to the recording of a violation of the established standards for axle loads, even if the vehicle is loaded to the standard level before the start of movement.

The conclusion is clear: it is necessary to use on-board weighing systems in conjunction with GLONASS monitoring systems.

This will allow:

– keep records of the amount of waste (MSW) actually received at the landfill in an automatic mode, taking into account the location of unloading to prevent unauthorized dumping in prohibited places;

– carry out payments between enterprises for services for the transportation and disposal of solid waste based on real data;

– clearly determine the amount of appropriate government subsidies, and, as a result, save budget funds.

Thus, fleets benefit from improved trucking safety; ensuring optimal operating conditions (protecting vehicles from premature wear); underload control; saving time during loading and unloading.

As a result, the transportation of goods will be within the framework of legal restrictions on weight, dimensions and axle loads.