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Road Transport Industry

In regards to south Somalia, trucks of uplift capacity up to 1,000 mt and 2,000 mt can be mobilized on short notice (7-10 days) in Somalian / Kenyan border regions and in Mogadishu area respectively. Average turn-around 4 days weather permitting. Regarding the cross-border operations, it is estimated that the truck mobilization takes about 3-4 days for 100 mt payload capacities.

Due to the absence of a central government, the transport agents operating in the south/central Somalia are not registered in Somalia. In the north-west, agents are registered with the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Commerce / Industry & Ports of the Republic of Somaliland. In the north-east, offices of the local administration provide recommendation letters on transport agents (ie. Ministry of Public Works & Transport, Bossaso District Court, Bossaso Chamber of Commerce, Office of the President, Bari Regional Autonomy).

Generally, trucks of Somali owners and ''number plates'' can operate within Somalia. Particularly, within a region, operations are based on Somali agents' local connections, business associations and clan affiliations. Regarding the north-west region, only trucks with Somaliland number plates operate within the region. However, if the trucking demand is higher than the existing market capacity, trucks are sub-contracted from Puntland following their registration with the Somaliland Ministry of Transport and the issuance of Somaliland number plates at the current cost of about USD 25 with one year of validity. Nevertheless, there are cases where the Somaliland number plates are not removed following the expiry date of the relevant transport certificate. The same applies for Ethiopian and Djibouti trucks of Somali owners who also operate in Somaliland. As mentioned, the transport industry in Somalia is based on provisional partnerships of individual transporters or small range transport agents who form ''joint ventures'' in order to increase their trucking capacity and ensure the acquisition of business especially in regards to relief operations.

Despite written and verbal claims of ownership of a fleet of several dozens of trucks, the reality suggests that individual transporters usually own 1 - 3 trucks. However, through ''joint ventures'', clan ''understanding'' and sub-contracting practices, transporters can mobilize up to 30 trucks on short notice. This is particular true for the transporters who are involved in cross-border and cargo import to Somalia activities, either for commercial or for relief operations.

Therefore, the trucking capability in Somalia does not consist of a problem from its numerical aspect, unless big shipments, such as over 25,000 mt, arrive at the same time. Problems can be encountered in terms of the organisational aspect particularly when dealing with small transport ''agents''.