Uzbekistan’s Road Freight Market in 2025: Rising Demand and the Transformation of Logistics Flows

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — In 2025, Uzbekistan recorded steady growth in demand for road freight transportation on both domestic and international routes, according to data from the international freight exchange ATI.SU.

Platform analytics show a noticeable increase throughout the year in the number of requests for cargo transportation by road. At the same time, the market evolved under the influence of a number of structural factors that shaped the key trends of 2025.

These included a decline in the profitability of shipments to the Russian market due to tighter customs and border controls at the Russia–Kazakhstan border, a recovery in import road transport after stagnation in 2024, and a sharp increase in cargo flows toward Kyrgyzstan. The latter was linked to the introduction of electronic permits (e-permit) in Kyrgyzstan, which led to a rise in re-export and re-import operations.

In the import segment, growth resumed after the stagnation of 2024. The number of requests posted on the ATI.SU platform increased by 21 percent, while average freight rates rose by around 10 percent. At the same time, a slowdown in activity emerged in the fourth quarter of 2025, with the number of requests declining by 6 percent year on year and by 18 percent compared to the third quarter.

In absolute terms, Russia traditionally remained the leading direction for imports, with a 17 percent annual increase in requests. However, the highest growth rates were recorded for Kazakhstan at 45 percent, China at 54 percent, and Kyrgyzstan at 117 percent.

In the export segment, the total number of requests rose by 29 percent over the year. The strongest activity was observed in the first half of the year, with growth reaching 34 percent in the first quarter and 86 percent in the second quarter. In the third quarter, growth slowed to 9 percent year on year, and in the fourth quarter to 2 percent. Export freight rates overall remained at the level of the previous year.

A significant increase in demand was recorded across all key destinations. Shipments to Russia grew by 24 percent, to Kazakhstan by 23 percent, and to Belarus by 48 percent. Kyrgyzstan became the fastest-growing destination, with the number of export transport requests tripling.

As in 2024, the domestic transportation segment demonstrated the strongest dynamics. The number of requests for shipments within Uzbekistan increased by 79 percent, with steady growth observed throughout the year. The main drivers of demand were rising industrial output, up by 6.8 percent, and growth in retail trade, which expanded by 11.2 percent.

An additional factor supporting demand was the expansion of ATI.SU’s presence and functional capabilities in Uzbekistan.

Commenting on the year’s results, Farid Vakhidov, head of ATI.SU’s representative office in Uzbekistan, noted that the market developed in line with objective economic conditions. According to him, the decline in activity on the Russian route in the second half of the year was linked to problems at the Russia–Kazakhstan border, where multi-day queues of freight vehicles increased delivery times and reduced the economic efficiency of transportation.

At the same time, the sharp increase in shipments to Kyrgyzstan was driven by the introduction of electronic permits and the active use of the country as a transit link in the logistics chain “Russia–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan.” Well-established customs procedures within the Eurasian Economic Union and the widespread practice of re-export operations made this model economically viable for market participants.

These trends correlate with the overall dynamics of Uzbekistan’s foreign trade. According to the National Statistics Committee, the country’s foreign trade turnover amounted to US$66.5 billion in January–October 2025, which is 21.5 percent higher than in the same period of the previous year. Exports increased by 27.8 percent and imports by 16.9 percent, while exports of services grew by 32.8 percent, with transport services accounting for around one third of that total.