Modern road freight systems function at the intersection of infrastructure, information technologies, and regulatory power. Over the last centuries, states have progressively extended their reach into the spatial and temporal rhythms of mobility. This article examines the evolution of state control over road freight, focusing on how technologies for tracking time and space have transformed regulatory frameworks, labor conditions, and sovereignty. The arrival of smart tachographs, GNSSbased tolling, and algorithmic enforcement marks a new phase in this long arc, one in which data itself becomes a critical field of governance.
Paper, World Economic History Congress 28 July – 1 August 2025, Lund, Sweden.