The electronic consignment note is now the subject of an official decree in the journal officiel de la République Française, and IRU member, Fédération Nationale des Transports Routiers (FNTR), has announced a forthcoming cross-border e-CMR pilot transport, which will prove the benefits of increased efficiency, reduced operational costs and lower environmental impact.
IRU encourages further member states to adopt e-CMR, ushering in a much called-for digital era for the industry. To date eleven countries have acceded to the protocol, which was added to the CMR Convention in 2011. These include Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, France, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland, with additional countries showing strong interest.
Rules for transporting goods internationally are covered by the United Nations Convention for the carriage of goods, the CMR (Convention relative au contrat de transport international de Marchandises par Route).
Transport operators, drivers, control authorities and those receiving shipments use a CMR consignment note, which contains information about the shipped goods and the transporting and receiving parties. Until recently, CMR notes were issued in paper form only.
