The mobilization is involving various sectors of the economy, with effects that go beyond the transport of goods. Interruptions and slowdowns in the movement of heavy vehicles can compromise deliveries of fuel, food and raw materials, putting both sales outlets and businesses that depend on road supplies in difficulty. Today the president of the Puglia Region Antonio Decaro meets a delegation of hauliers, who have been protesting for days. Fresh products are particularly exposed to disruption, because any delays can compromise the conservation of the goods and cause losses for producers. Meanwhile, in Molise the protest has already forced the La Molisana pasta factory in Campobasso to drastically reduce production rates. The company explained that it had not completely stopped production, but had resorted to the stocks of raw materials available in warehouses to cope with supply difficulties.
Sicily itself remains among the regions most exposed to the consequences of the protest. The continuation of the stoppage of heavy vehicles could compromise the regular functioning of various sectors, starting from public and private road transport, service stations and large-scale retail trade. If the situation does not resolve itself, in the following days the difficulties could extend to the processing industries, without the raw materials necessary for production, and to the agricultural sector, with vehicles at a standstill and crops difficult to market.
What is especially worrying are passenger transport companies, which depend on diesel supplies to guarantee daily connections. Antonio Graffagnini, president of Anav Sicilia, the association representing traveler transport companies, reported that already on Friday some tankers had not made scheduled deliveries to the depots, bringing the available reserves close to the limit.
In the absence of new supplies between Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 October, the service could undergo a drastic reduction in trips. The consequences would especially affect students and workers who use buses to reach schools and workplaces. In the event of a lack of supplies, companies will concentrate the remaining fuel on the essential routes in the time slots of greatest need, sacrificing the other connections.
The protest by hauliers is also causing inconvenience along the A1 Milan-Naples motorway, especially in Campania, where trucks have blocked access to the Bausan gate in the port of Naples, increasing the inconvenience for motorists.
According to the updates published on the Autostrade per l'Italia website, there are 6 kilometers of traffic jams between Villa Literno-Pomigliano and Caserta Nord, towards Rome, while on the A30 Caserta-Salerno, 2 kilometers of slowdowns are reported between Maddaloni and the junction with the A1, towards Caserta. Furthermore, the connection between the A1 and the A30 remains closed for those coming from Naples and heading to Salerno. To reach this last destination, Autostrade recommends continuing on the A1, joining the A16 Napoli-Canosa and following the signs for Caserta-Salerno before entering the A30. For those traveling on the A1 towards Rome, it is recommended to exit at Caserta Sud or Maddaloni, traveling along the state road 700 and subsequently returning to the motorway at Santa Maria Capua Vetere.
Even in Sicily, motorists fear being left without the possibility of refueling. After the last deliveries made on Thursday morning in various plants, many citizens decided to fill up early. The rush to the pumps caused queues at the most convenient petrol stations, especially in Palermo. The operators can continue to sell fuel only until the stocks in the tanks are exhausted, waiting for an agreement to be reached.
Another important issue concerns food distribution. Opening Sunday allowed many supermarkets to continue serving customers, but warehouse supplies may only last until this evening. In the absence of a solution to the dispute, the risk is that we will see new shortages on the shelves, especially in the fruit, vegetable, milk and meat departments.
The situation could quickly worsen if trucks do not resume regular circulation. Fresh products are in fact particularly exposed to interruptions in the logistics chain: in addition to problems for points of sale, goods that remain stationary in the production sites risk deteriorating before reaching consumers.
For now, there have been no widespread attacks on supermarkets, but there is growing concern among citizens about the availability of essential goods. Some also sought reassurance from pharmacies, fearing possible repercussions on medicine supplies. For this sector, however, the picture currently appears less critical: according to the operators interviewed, medicines are among the goods excluded from the block and the depots continue to make deliveries.
On Sunday, protests had been reported in 15 areas, without complete traffic blocks in the affected areas. Among the places where the mobilization continues are the state road 534, near the Firmo-Sibari motorway junction, and the state road 106, in the Sybaris Motel area, in the Cassano area. Other garrisons are active in the Pollino district, in the Sibaritide and in the Alto Ionian area of Cosenza.
On Monday morning, the blockade which had affected the A2 motorway junction in Falerna, in the Lametino area, in the province of Catanzaro, was removed. The hauliers and farmers who had blocked the entrance and exit ramps moved the heavy vehicles, allowing normal circulation to be restored. However, the protestors' presence remains active in the vicinity of the junction, continuing to contest the high cost of fuel and the increase in company management costs, as well as the students who complain about high rents and the scarcity of transport services.
Calabrian hauliers have confirmed that their delegation will take part in the meeting called by Salvini for Tuesday 20 October. The end of the detention is scheduled for midnight of the same day, but the outcome of the confrontation could affect subsequent initiatives. “If we do not have certain and concrete answers, we will move forward, we will intensify the mobilization and nothing is excluded,” declared one of the demonstrators present at the Calabrian demonstrations. Fedralog considers the convocation a significant step, without however considering it sufficient to resolve the reasons underlying the protest. The association reiterated that the confrontation with the government does not change, for the moment, the timetable of the detention and that the participants will continue to preside over the territory in a peaceful and orderly manner until the scheduled conclusion.
Alongside the hauliers, the mobilization of farmers continues, denouncing costs that are increasingly difficult to bear and asking for interventions capable of guaranteeing the survival of the companies.
From the Bianchino district rally in Castrovillari, the protesters reported growing participation, with the involvement of producers from Cassano, Castrovillari, Cerchiara and Firmo. According to the organizers, the protest is going beyond the boundaries of the single professional category, gathering support and solidarity from part of the local community.
Mayors and councilors of nearby municipalities, some representatives of the Regional Council and minority councilors of the Municipality of Castrovillari presented themselves at the demonstrations. The farmers also underlined the presence of students from the scientific high school, interpreting it as a sign of attention towards the economic and social prospects of the area.
However, there was no shortage of criticism aimed at local institutions. The promoters of the Castrovillari garrison contested the absence of the mayor and the majority municipal administration, considering it particularly significant in light of the support received from other political leaders and citizens.
The mobilization of hauliers also extended to Basilicata, where on Monday morning heavy vehicles were reported at the entrances to Potenza. The trucks were concentrated above all near the Potenza Est and Potenza Ovest junctions and in the industrial area of Tito, along the motorway link that connects the Lucanian capital to Sicignano degli Alburni, in the province of Salerno.
Inconveniences, but without road traffic blockages, were also reported along the Lucanian section of the Jonica state road, in the Metaponto area, on the border with Puglia and Calabria.
After a few days characterized by difficulties in supplies, the situation in the petrol stations of Basilicata has returned almost to normal. It remains to be seen whether the continuation of the protest and the possible slowdown in deliveries could cause new problems in the coming days.
