The first day of the International Transport and Logistics Forum has ended

The first day of the International Transport and Logistics Forum has ended. The business program of the day focused on three interrelated contours of the transport system development: the sustainability of industry logistics, the formation of a new Eurasian connectivity and the large-scale digital transformation of transport.

A separate focus is on the technological shift within the industry itself: autonomous shipping, unmanned cargo transportation, AI routing, digital counterparts of the transport system, biometrics at checkpoints, the transition to electronic transportation documents and the replacement of up to 70% of Western software with domestic solutions.

In fact, the forum documented the transition from logistics as a function of transportation to transport as a platform for managing economic growth, security and international connectivity.

"The first day of the International Transport and Logistics Forum has shown that Russia has managed to build a real international dialogue on key areas of development of the transport system. It is safe to say that in 2026 transport has become a strategic tool for geo-economic sustainability and the new architecture of Greater Eurasia. The international North–South corridors, the Transarctic Transport Corridor (NSR) and the CIS multimodal chains are coming to the fore, and seamless digital platforms are reducing border crossing time and radically increasing throughput. These solutions will contribute to the creation of competitive routes on the continent, integrating national routes into a single transport system, attracting new players. The choice of route is now determined not only by speed and cost, but also by resilience to geopolitical risks, accessibility of financial infrastructure and transparency of digital procedures," said Anton Kobyakov, Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation, Executive Secretary of the MTLF Organizing Committee.

The main accents of the day

• 21.5 million tons – the volume of traffic along the North–South corridor by the end of the year

• 70-109 million tons – the target cargo flow along the NSR by 2030

140 billion ₽ – R&D for transport mobility in the next 3 years

• 58 hours versus 24 hours – shortening the St. Petersburg-Kazan route by unmanned truck

• 16 satellites – a deployed constellation for autonomous navigation

• 65 ms – data transmission delay for remote control of vessels

• 70% has already been replaced by domestic software in transport

• >1 billion ₽ per year – confirmed effect of AI optimization at airports

• up to 10 minutes is the target standard for passing the border

• +40% – increased road efficiency due to dry ports and logistics facilities

The forum showed the transition of logistics from a model of a local industry function to the role of a system driver of industry, foreign trade and investment projects. The main focus is on the rhythmicity of supplies, the sustainability of multimodal chains, the development of project logistics and industry solutions for shipping, aviation, trucking and bulky industrial cargo.

Especially significant was the thesis that the cost of logistical disruptions now directly affects the CAPEX of large-scale productions: with a construction cycle of 3-4 years, even a six-month delay in deliveries leads to a sharp increase in the cost of an investment project.