Border Congestion Between Georgia and Azerbaijan: Why Your US-Auction Car Might Arrive Late

In mid-August 2026, the border crossing between Azerbaijan and Georgia known as "Red Bridge" (Qırmızı Körpü) saw congestion on a scale not seen in years. On the Georgian side, near Marneuli, the queue stretched for kilometers — drivers reported that a crossing point that once saw around 100 trucks a day was suddenly handling 500 to 1,000, with some drivers waiting close to a week to get through.

This isn't an abstract statistic. Every Copart or IAAI car that arrives by container at the port of Poti or Batumi and then continues overland through Georgia on a car transporter to Baku travels through exactly this route. If you won a car at auction this year and it's currently in transit, this news is directly about you.

What the numbers show

According to statements from Azerbaijan's State Customs Committee (DGK) and the State Agency of Automobile Roads (AYNA):

• In mid-August, more than 1,000 freight vehicles were reportedly queued at Red Bridge, with the backup stretching roughly 20 kilometers.
• Following consultations between Azerbaijani and Georgian customs authorities, the situation eased somewhat by late August — the queue at Red Bridge dropped to around 330 vehicles, and to 56 at the Mazımçay checkpoint.
• No official statement has declared the bottleneck fully resolved. Both sides say measures are "being planned" to speed up crossing, but no firm timeline has been given.

What's actually causing it?

Drivers and analysts point to a combination of factors rather than a single cause:

• Restricted sea routes. The Russia-Ukraine war has made Black Sea shipping riskier for cargo carriers, pushing more freight — including vehicles — onto Georgia's overland routes instead.
• Rising trade volume. Growing use of the Middle Corridor has increased overall freight traffic through Georgia year over year — it isn't just cars competing for space at the crossing, but every category of transit cargo.
• Limited processing capacity. The Red Bridge checkpoint's throughput hasn't kept pace with the increase in traffic, especially during peak periods.

What this means for your car

If your vehicle has already been offloaded at Poti and is now moving overland through Georgia toward Baku on a transporter, there are a few practical consequences worth planning around:

• Delivery timing becomes unpredictable. A Poti-to-Baku leg that normally takes 3–5 days can stretch to one or two weeks depending on how congested the border is at that moment.
• Extra storage fees can appear. Extended waits in parking areas on the Georgian side sometimes trigger additional storage charges from transport companies — check your contract to see whether this is covered or billed separately.
• Registration and insurance timelines can slip. If you've scheduled a specific date for technical inspection, registration, or İCBARİ (mandatory) insurance, build in a buffer given the possibility of delay.

Practical tips

• Ask your transporter for real-time tracking. Most established car-transport companies offer GPS tracking or regular status updates — knowing where your car actually is makes planning around delays much easier.
• Keep your paperwork ready while you wait. Having your Bill of Lading, auction receipt, and other documents fully in order means customs processing can move quickly the moment your car crosses the border.
• Re-check your expected customs costs. The delay itself won't change your duty rate, but valuation-date scenarios can vary — it's worth running your numbers again through our customs calculator while you wait.
• Use the waiting time productively. While your car is still on the road, run its VIN back through our VIN decoder tool to double-check its history for anything you might have missed before bidding.
• Follow official updates, not just one source. DGK and AYNA statements show how the situation is evolving day to day — since conditions at the border change quickly, don't plan your delivery date around a single report.

The bottom line

Congestion at Red Bridge isn't new for people importing cars into Azerbaijan — this route has been a key transit corridor for years — but the backup in August 2026 was one of the worst in recent memory. Conditions have improved somewhat since, but there's no official word that the situation is fully stabilized. Until it is, the safest approach is to keep tracking your car all the way to Baku, build a buffer into your plans, and use any waiting time to get your paperwork and VIN check fully in order.