New regulations imposing hefty fines for transportation rule violations have disrupted the trucking industry, particularly affecting the transportation of bulk building materials. The updated Code of Administrative Offenses, effective July 18, introduces fines of 600,000 rubles for refusing weight and dimensional control and violating related procedures.

Truck owners are struggling to adapt, with some staging “Italian strikes” by adhering strictly to regulations, leading to increased trips with partial loads and, consequently, higher transportation costs. This situation has exposed long-standing issues within the industry, where overloading was common practice.

The new regulations also include a significant increase in fines for refusing to stop at the request of an authorized employee, escalating from 500 to 10,000 rubles. Some carriers are reportedly continuing to operate as before, employing tactics to evade weight control and conceal license plates, though the long-term consequences of accumulating fines remain uncertain.

Industry representatives are calling for a level playing field, urging authorities to enforce regulations consistently across all stakeholders, including quarry owners and builders. Concerns are rising about the potential increase in production costs for materials like concrete, which could impact residential and road construction projects.

The current market prices for transporting bulk building materials are considered unsustainably low, forcing carriers to violate regulations to remain competitive. There’s a growing recognition that adhering to the law necessitates higher prices, but carriers fear losing business to competitors willing to operate under any conditions.