The International Road Transport Union (IRU) was founded in Geneva on 23 March 1948, one year after the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), to expedite the reconstruction of war-torn Europe through facilitated international trade by road transport.

The IRU started as a group of national road transport associations from eight Western European countries: Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

A global industry federation of national Member Associations and Associate Members in 73 countries on the 5 continents, the IRU today represents the interests of bus, coach, taxi and truck operators worldwide,[1] from large fleets to individual owner-operators.

[2] Activities include: IRU started the TIR System Transports (Internationaux Routiers) in the late 1940s, helping a war-torn Europe to rebuild devastated trade and commercial links.

With the continued expansion of TIR, and the benefits it has brought across the Eurasian landmass, many countries in Africa, Asia, and South America are now joining the system.