The truck protest against expensive fuel proclaimed by Fedralog, the regional logistics federation, has officially started in Calabria and will continue until October 20th. The trucks involved positioned themselves on the sides of the roads without implementing real blocks, at the moment, under the control of the police. However, there will be no shortage of traffic disruptions due to the narrowing of the road.
In the Calabrian territory there are around fifteen facilities identified, including those present in the area of the Lamezia Terme airport, in the port of Gioia Tauro and in the Cosenza area near the A2 junctions. The protest, among other things, adds to the demonstrations that have been ongoing for days and organized by farmers.
The truck strike began in Sicily in the last few hours. The trucks will remain parked in the yards and the semi-trailers loaded with goods will not be collected from the ships in the Sicilian ports. For five days, from today to Tuesday 20 October, an important part of the island's transport system decided to stop to protest against high fuel prices. The Sicilian road hauliers' committee, led by Salvatore Bella, proclaimed the closure until midnight on the 20th.
The truckers' protest against high fuel prices on the motorway arteries in the provinces of Caserta and Naples began at midnight and is still ongoing. In particular, heavy vehicles are under surveillance near the Nola toll booth on the A30 Caserta-Salerno motorway, and the Caianello toll booth on the A1 Milan-Naples motorway. The garrisons, however, are leaving a gap to allow other vehicles to pass, but are creating traffic inconveniences. Other vehicles are present in Caserta Sud. The Traffic Police is monitoring the situation.
Protests have also taken place in Basilicata where around one hundred trucks have been blocking heavy traffic since night along the Ionian state road 106, at the junction with Fondovalle dell'Agri, in Scanzano Jonico, in the Matera area. The mobilization, destined to continue until October 20th, involves various strategic junctions of the regional road system. The protests were organized in particular at the intersections between State Road 106 and State Road 598 Val d'Agri, in Scanzano Jonico, and between Ionica and State Road 653 Sinnica, in the area between Rotondella and Policoro. The block concerns trucks and articulated vehicles, while the transit of private cars, buses, school buses and emergency vehicles is guaranteed 24 hours a day. Other garrisons are reported in the Vulture Melfese, along the Bradanica and on the Noce valley floor.
"They are spontaneous protests, not governed and not proclaimed by trade associations, which makes the picture even more disturbing because it means that we are moving in the context of entrepreneurs' desperation", explained the president of Conftrasporto, Pasquale Russo. Along the same lines, Unatras (National Union of Goods Road Transport Associations) spoke of "a widespread malaise that is no longer sustainable on the part of companies". Both associations therefore requested immediate intervention from the Meloni government. "We ask the government for an urgent ad horas convocation of the road haulage associations, otherwise we will have to resort to the evaluation of a national shutdown and the country will come to a standstill", underlined Russo. "If he does not convene a meeting as a matter of urgency, he assumes the responsibility of consigning the sector to total paralysis", Unatras had warned.
The basis of the protests is the failure to release the resources allocated last May precisely to counteract the expensive diesel "but which have not yet arrived" at their destination. Among other things, "further appropriations" are needed, also considering that the diesel price rise continues. From the beginning of the war to today there has been "an increase of more than 50 cents per litre", underlined the president of Conftrasporto.
Among other things, the logistical crisis, which is affecting the distribution network, also due to the strike at the Taranto refinery, has triggered a fuel emergency in various areas of the country, such as Puglia and Calabria. In the Foggia area almost all the petrol stations are out of stock, in Cosenza the vast majority of service stations have completely run out of petrol and diesel supplies, throwing urban mobility into chaos. The problem is also spreading to other provinces and cities, such as Catanzaro, where most pumps have run out of supplies. "The Meloni government must intervene immediately on the fuel emergency, which has now extended to the entire South", was the request from the Calabria Democratic Party. While the president of Confindustria Puglia, Nicola Delle Donne, reported that "many companies risk stopping due to lack of fuel: from transport to infrastructure and construction".
