Dynamics of development of cargo transportation in Uzbekistan

. The structure of the economic development of railway transport in Uzbekistan is analyzed and evaluated in the article. An assessment of the dynamics of freight traffic development in Uzbekistan is given on the basis of GDP data. The volume of transport services provided and the use of modes of transport in terms of the volume of products shipped is considered. According to the dynamics of the growth of cargo transportation, a decrease in growth in 2020 was revealed due to the pandemic, but in general, there is a steady growth rate. Along with the ongoing operations on the renovation and reconstruction of railway tracks, it is necessary to take measures to optimize the entire chain of organizing cargo transportation through containerization, i.e. application of block train technology.


Introduction
One of the priority issues of state policy in Central Asia is the formation of a system of trade and transport logistics, and entering the global supply chain system [1].
The slow economic development of the countries of the former Soviet republics, including Uzbekistan, is associated with the difficulties of trade and transport companies of the countries as a result of the significant "economic distance" (the distance of goods transportation at which its value is not covered by transport costs) to international commodity markets.
The "economic distance" can be significantly reduced by improving the state of infrastructure facilities and by creating favorable conditions, in particular by simplifying transit and customs clearance procedures, providing open and free access to information sources, and suppressing unofficial payments at the border [1].
It should be noted that the creation and development of railway transport infrastructure is a factor of the trade development, the creation of new jobs and sustainable economic growth.
Uzbekistan is located far from sea routes, which leads to the need to cross the territory of two countries for access to the sea and, accordingly, to an increase in the share of transport costs in the cost of export goods [1].

Methods
The theoretical and methodological basis of the study was scientific works of domestic and foreign scientists and practitioners in the field of regional economics and management of transport systems. The research is based on the application of scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, classification, mathematical statistics, economic analysis, mathematical technical modeling.

Results and discussion
To assess the dynamics of the development of freight traffic in Uzbekistan, let us consider the growth rate of GDP of Uzbekistan in the freight transport industry as a percentage of the period of the previous year (Fig. 1). A sharp decline in transport performance (transportation in value terms) occurred at the end of 2019 -2020 due to the spread of COVID-19. The pandemic is viewed as an external shock to the economy of Uzbekistan. In the industry of international freight railway transportation, the amount of imported and exported goods has significantly decreased, which, as a result, negatively affected the country's trade balance [1]. In the future (based on the results of 2021), it will be possible to expect an increase in the country's GDP growth due to cargo transportation. Analysis of the structure of economic development in Uzbekistan shows that due to the improvement and development of transport infrastructure and an increase in transit and regional trade, the logistics market in the republic in the coming years will grow at an accelerated pace [1]. Today, national transport and logistics companies want to take advantage of this opportunity and develop their business, improve the level of provided logistics transportation to the level of international standards. Consider the volume of transportation in the regions of Uzbekistan  The volume of transportation in all regions until 2020 steadily increased, which indicates general economic development, strengthening of trade ties, increasing exportimport operations [1].
Every day, the transit of Uzbek goods is realized through the territory of Kazakhstan and Russia. Foreign trade cargo transportation from Uzbekistan is carried out along the main transport corridors. One of such corridors connecting Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan with branches to China and Turkmenistan is the A-40 corridor in the form of an asphaltconcrete highway crossing the region from east to west. To transport goods across the Kazakh-Chinese border, there is a single railway corridor to China passing through the "Dostyk" point.
The volume of provided transportation in Uzbekistan is shown in Fig. 2. As seen from the figure, the growth of transport traffic in Uzbekistan until 2020 was of uniform pattern, increasing by an average of five thousand billion soums per year. However, at the end of 2020, the growth rate fell by 10% (as can be tentatively judged from Fig. 3).
It can be noted that the growth in the volume of transportation took place as a result of the growth of domestic freight and passenger traffic, and external freight and passenger traffic [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. The increase in the volume of international cargo transportation is associated, on the one hand, with the establishment of export-import flows, where export flows are represented mainly by energy resources and metals, and on the second hand, due to the improvement of highways and the construction of additional railway tracks.
The volume of transportations in the regions of Uzbekistan in 2019 is shown in Fig. 3. As seen from the figure, the largest volume of transport traffic falls on the capital of Uzbekistan (Tashkent). We can also mark Samarkand, Fergana and Andijan.
The structure of the use of types of transport (pipeline, air, rail and motor road ones) in Uzbekistan in terms of the volume of shipped products as of the beginning of 2020 is shown in Fig. 4  As seen from the figure, road transport accounts for the largest share (90%). Pipeline and rail transport account for 5% of the shipped products. Freight traffic by air transport is not significant.
It can be noted that in Central Asia, the road network is extensive and generally meets the needs of users. However, a large percentage of highways in the region are in a deplorable state, which indicates a lack of proper maintenance.
For traders in transporting goods, in addition to long distances to world markets, an urgent problem is physical barriers, such as delays in delivery and unofficial payments (bribes to customs officials). Table 2 shows the volume of goods shipped by railways by types of cargo in Uzbekistan, thousand tons. The structure of the use of modes of transport in Uzbekistan by the volume of shipped products in 2020, % As seen from the table, there is an increase in the volume of shipped goods for all types of cargo presented, except for timber cargo (timber). The volume of cement and building materials in general increased significantly compared to 2017. The amount of grain shipped increased significantly. The volumes of ore, metals, coal are increasing at a significant rate.
Consider the structure of goods shipped in Uzbekistan by railway transport (Fig. 5). Until 2020, goods shipped in Uzbekistan by railway transport increased at a steady high rate. In many respects, this was facilitated by the introduction into the operation of additional railway trains intended for goods transport, and the increase in railway tracks. However, there are difficulties with the storage of goods due to the need to transport them over long distances; first of all, this concerns quickly perishable products -fruits, vegetables, and grain.
Despite the decrease in the volume of shipped products at the end of 2020, in the future, the volumes of goods transported by rail, other things being equal, will increase, which will require technologically newly-made solutions for their organization and maintenance.
Consider the structure of goods shipped by railway transport in Uzbekistan in 2019 (Fig. 6). Among the types of cargo presented, the largest share is ore. A significant share falls on oil, cement, coal, chemical and mineral fertilizers, building materials [1]. In general, the types of transported goods are quite diverse, but raw materials account for a significant share. Fig. 7. shows the dynamics of traffic volumes for certain types of cargo in containers for the period 2019-2020.  If we talk about individual nomenclatures, it should be noted that in 2020 the volume of yarn shipments in loaded containers increased by approximately 27% and amounted to 1,028 thousand TEU. Thanks to modern technologies and new types of packaging, the list of cargo transported in containers (traditionally classified as bulk and liquid cargo) has significantly extended. There is a tendency to increase point container deliveries to consumers of such goods as grain, fertilizers and oils. However, at the moment, the share of such shipments in the volume of fertilizer shipments is still very small.
The leaders of the products that are transported in this way are chemicals -the volume of their transportation increased by 257%, HDPEgranuleby 3%, cellulose pulp -by 348%, dry vegetables -by 500%. The transportation of metal (more than 20 times), auto/auto parts (more than 120 times), and equipment (18 times) showed the best positive dynamics. With such an increase in cargo transportation, the emergence of container train routes is necessary.

Conclusions
Thus, the volume of cargo transportation in Uzbekistan slowed down in 2020 due to the influence of the pandemic regime but, in general, it has stable growth rates, which require the provision of appropriate infrastructure. The largest percentage of cargo transportation is made up by road transportation; however, the transportation of goods by rail would be more profitable due to the reduction of transport costs. Due to the remoteness of Uzbekistan from international markets and sea routes, it is required to create special conditions to ensure the safety of goods during transportation and reduce the time for cargo transportation.
The slow economic development of the countries of the former Soviet republics, including Uzbekistan, is associated with the difficulties in transporting goods by the country's transport and trading companies as a result of the significant "economic space" [10][11][12][13][14][15]. For the functioning of the economic space, the distances between its elements are of great importance -the so-called connectivity. "Economic distance", in contrast to physical distance, measured in kilometers, miles, etc., is characterized, first of all, by transport and transaction costs for overcoming the physical distance, so the economic distance between the same geographical points is not the same for different goods and services.
Railway transport accounts for 5% of the shipped products. Among the types of cargo presented, the largest share is ore. A significant share is an oil, cement, coal, chemical and mineral fertilizers, building materials. In general, the types of transported goods are quite diverse, but raw materials account for a significant share.
The total length of the railways of Uzbekistan, as of 2020, exceeds 7 thousand kilometers. Of these, about 2500 km are electrified. The constant renewal of tracks and purchase of modern rolling stock allows electric locomotives to reach speed of up to 150 km/h. The volume of transportation in all regions until 2020 increased steadily, which indicates general economic development, strengthening of trade ties, and an increase in export-import operations. A sharp decline in transport performance (transport in value terms) occurred at the end of 2019 -2020 due to the spread of COVID-19.
Despite the decrease in the volume of shipped products at the end of 2020, in the future, the volumes of goods transported by rail, other things being equal, will increase, which will require technologically fresh solutions for their organization and maintenance.
When addressing the development of railway transport, one should proceed from the interests of buyers of transport services, that is, legal entities and individuals organizing the delivery of goods. It is necessary, simultaneously with the ongoing work on the renovation and reconstruction of railways, to take measures to improve the entire chain of organization of cargo transportation.
Mass use of containers using the block-train technology -i.e. the gathering of containers from the port rear terminals, in which the formation of batches of containers takes place and their accumulation in the volumes required by the buyer for transportation by rail, can also be a solution to these problems.