Jordan Times
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Kidnappings, threats against
Jordanian drivers damage trucking sector
By Sarah McGregor-Wood
AMMAN, September 19 - The recent hostage taking
and ongoing threats against Jordanian truck drivers entering Iraq is severely
damaging the country's trucking and distribution sector with some analysts
estimating that thousands of people's livelihoods are at risk. With Jordanian
truckers increasingly reluctant to make the hazardous Aqaba-Baghdad journey,
Iraqi truck drivers are filling the gap and cleaning up on potentially lucrative
contracts.
“It's a very difficult situation,” stated Marwan Bitar, chairman of Amman Swards
Transport Service. “Jordanian truck drivers are restricted to charging certain
prices by the Ministry of Transport and are fined if they undercut or
overcharge. Iraqi truck drivers have no such restraints at the moment, so even
if Jordanians wanted to make the drive to Baghdad, they wouldn't be able to
compete.”
To illustrate the problem, Bitar said he recently wanted to transport 100,000
tonnes of fertilizer to Iraq. While Jordanian drivers are obliged to charge $28
per tonne, Iraqi drivers were willing to take it for as low as $19. “That was
the initial price they quoted, but I ended up paying $25 per tonne,” noted Bitar.
As well as a lack of government restrictions on their operations, Iraqi truck
drivers' lack of overheads also helps them undercut their Jordanian
counterparts. “I have been told by Iraqi officials that most of the truckers are
driving stolen vehicles,” said the manager of one Jordanian company. “They had
been working for the state-owned company, and when the government fell they
simply took their trucks home. Nothing has been done to get them back and they
now have a stranglehold on the market.”
While essential supplies are still making it into Iraq, many companies are
holding off on shipping any items that are not urgently required. “There is no
insurance available and we can make absolutely no guarantee that deliveries will
arrive. We are relying entirely on the drivers who could be risking their lives.
It's not a situation that we're at all happy with,” stated Ibrahim Naouri,
managing director of shipper Naouri Group. “We're only using Iraqi drivers now,
because they will make the trip and because they are around $100 cheaper per
truck.”
Exporters are also shying away from transporting loads such as caravans or Land
Cruisers which are obviously bound for US companies, citing the massively
increased risk of attack.
For Amman Swards, the war and its aftermath have been particularly bad for
business. “After the first Gulf War, we were approached by the Ministry of
Transport and the then Iraqi regime to set up a joint transport company. We set
up Amman Shipping and Trading and basically acted as a front man to get things
into the country under sanctions,” Bitar explained. “We were the Iraq
specialists, but we suspended all operations about two years ago when the regime
fell and conditions became too difficult. We have been approached by the new
administration about reviving the company, but they don't need us as much now as
they did under sanctions.”
While Bitar said he would be keen to see a neutral security force guarding truck
convoys, regional security experts dismissed this idea as unworkable. “No matter
how many armored vehicles you have, it only takes one mine or a very determined
and well-armed group of people to take out a whole convoy. We've already seen it
happen. The simple fact is there is no way to guarantee safety there at the
moment.”