Improving the Efficiency of Transportation and Distribution of Goods in Modern Conditions

International trade is an important industry for the national economy of any country. Effective logistics chains are required to implement it. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the unwillingness of countries and international organizations to take coordinated measures to ensure the smooth movement of goods among countries and their efficient distribution. The lack of research on the transport of goods and their distribution, the operation of transport and the state of the supply chain in a pandemic explained by time constraints and insufficient information. The paper studies the trends in the development of international trade and international transport. The foreign experience in organizing freight transportation and their impact on international trade summarized. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the logistics of distribution of goods and measures to improve them assessed. An assessment was made of the efficiency of logistics and factors affecting the development of international trade and freight transport of the EAEU countries, since these countries are an important trade and logistics intermediary in international trade between Europe and Southeast Asia. According to the results of the study, ways to improve the efficiency of logistics proposed. Logistics factors affect economic growth in different ways in each country. Considering the role of transport and logistics and their contribution to the national economy, it is necessary to take into account the mutual influence of modes of transport on the country's economy, especially in the long term. We have identified a causal relationship between modes of transport, transport infrastructure and economic growth according to the Granger test, which allows us to different developed recommendations when developing short- and long-term transport policies. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the development of logistics and trade in the commodity distribution system in the regions of Kazakhstan using the DEA-analysis method made it possible to classify and rank macroregions, and large urban agglomerations depending on the conditions for the development of logistics systems, the state of transport infrastructure and wholesale trade, freight traffic, investments in logistics, geographical location of regions. The development strategy of these objects determined by the prospects for the development and functioning of logistics and their influence on the spatial location and the efficiency of the functioning of existing logistics distribution centers.