The pre-Christmas supply-chain crunch deepened on 19 December as more than 4,000 vehicles—mainly heavy trucks—were queued at four key checkpoints on the Polish–Ukrainian border. According to Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service, Shehyni alone hosted 1,000 lorries, while Yahodyn saw nearly 1,800 vehicles waiting to cross. Passenger cars and buses moved, but freight traffic slowed to a crawl, with only 120–150 trucks clearing Polish controls per day.
Polish haulage companies began blocking the crossings on 6 November to protest the EU’s waiver of permit requirements for Ukrainian carriers. Polish operators argue the waiver floods their domestic market with lower-cost competitors and are demanding the reinstatement of quotas that expired in June 2024. Talks facilitated by both governments have so far yielded only a vaguely worded action plan.
The stand-off is squeezing manufacturers on both sides of the border. Polish automotive plants that rely on Ukrainian wire-harness suppliers report parts shortages, while Ukrainian grain exporters warn they will miss shipping windows at Baltic ports. Logistics analysts estimate daily losses at €5–7 million as truckers idle in freezing temperatures.
![Over 4,000 Trucks Stuck at Polish–Ukrainian Border as Carrier Blockade Drags On]()
Amid the turmoil, companies rerouting personnel or urgent cargo through alternative Schengen crossings can turn to VisaHQ’s Poland portal (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) for rapid, fully digital visa processing and up-to-date transit guidance; the service’s concierge team also helps with ATA-Carnet endorsements and other customs paperwork, easing the administrative load when every hour counts.
For global mobility teams the disruption has two immediate consequences. First, corporate assignees shuttling between Lublin or Rzeszów and plants in western Ukraine now face multi-hour detours via Slovakia or Hungary. Second, time-sensitive ATA-Carnet shipments—common in construction and IT roll-outs—risk breaching temporary-import deadlines, triggering tax liabilities.
Until Warsaw and Kyiv craft a compromise on permits, mobility managers should explore modal shifts to rail or air-cargo corridors and brief travellers on humanitarian-lane procedures that occasionally allow priority crossing for perishable goods and critical spare parts.
Polish haulage companies began blocking the crossings on 6 November to protest the EU’s waiver of permit requirements for Ukrainian carriers. Polish operators argue the waiver floods their domestic market with lower-cost competitors and are demanding the reinstatement of quotas that expired in June 2024. Talks facilitated by both governments have so far yielded only a vaguely worded action plan.
The stand-off is squeezing manufacturers on both sides of the border. Polish automotive plants that rely on Ukrainian wire-harness suppliers report parts shortages, while Ukrainian grain exporters warn they will miss shipping windows at Baltic ports. Logistics analysts estimate daily losses at €5–7 million as truckers idle in freezing temperatures.
Amid the turmoil, companies rerouting personnel or urgent cargo through alternative Schengen crossings can turn to VisaHQ’s Poland portal (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) for rapid, fully digital visa processing and up-to-date transit guidance; the service’s concierge team also helps with ATA-Carnet endorsements and other customs paperwork, easing the administrative load when every hour counts.
For global mobility teams the disruption has two immediate consequences. First, corporate assignees shuttling between Lublin or Rzeszów and plants in western Ukraine now face multi-hour detours via Slovakia or Hungary. Second, time-sensitive ATA-Carnet shipments—common in construction and IT roll-outs—risk breaching temporary-import deadlines, triggering tax liabilities.
Until Warsaw and Kyiv craft a compromise on permits, mobility managers should explore modal shifts to rail or air-cargo corridors and brief travellers on humanitarian-lane procedures that occasionally allow priority crossing for perishable goods and critical spare parts.
