DIRECTIONS FOR ENSURING THE ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY OF FREIGHT ROAD TRANSPORT ENTERPRISES OF UKRAINE
Abstract
The article investigates the theoretical and applied principles of ensuring the economic sustainability of freight road transport enterprises of Ukraine under the influence of modern macroeconomic challenges, military-logistic constraints, and European integration transformations. To achieve this, the authors substantiate the use of a comprehensive score-index methodology for conducting a rapid express-diagnosis of the integrated economic sustainability index of motor transport enterprises. This index is dynamically calculated based on four key structural sub-indices: financial stability and liquidity, technical-technological capacity, market-logistic flexibility, and personnel-social security. Each sub-index incorporates specialized coefficients that reflect the actual operating conditions of domestic carriers under extreme uncertainty, martial law constraints, and disrupted traditional trade routes. Based on a thorough empirical analysis of a representative sample of Ukrainian road carriers for the period of 2023–2025, the key destructive factors hindering industry growth were identified. These include severe fuel price fluctuations, physical infrastructure damage, border blockades, labor migration, and a critical shortage of qualified drivers. To counteract these threats, the study determines strategic directions for strengthening corporate sustainability. Chief among these is the comprehensive digitalization of supply chain management through Transport Management Systems (TMS) and the adoption of electronic consignment notes (e-CMR). Furthermore, the article highlights the implementation of energy-efficient technologies, the diversification of the service portfolio to the level of 3PL/4PL operators, and the strategic modernization of the vehicle fleet through international leasing mechanisms. The proposed recommendations form a reliable framework for enhancing competitiveness and integrating Ukrainian transport companies into the European logistics space.