The fuel alarm rises, the government calls on road transport

The high cost of fuel triggers the revolt of the trucks, with the hauliers threatening to stop the country and the government calls a meeting for 27 October at the Ministry of Transport. Autonomous blocks have already arisen in some regions of the South, such as in Puglia, and others are planned by autonomous committees and groups in Calabria, starting tomorrow, and in Sicily in the next few days, while alarm is growing in Basilicata and again in Calabria where fuel is running out in several service stations with long queues.

"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", states the president of Conftrasporto, Pasquale Russo. Unatras (National Union of Goods Road Transport Associations) is along the same lines, speaking of "a widespread malaise that is no longer sustainable on the part of companies". Both associations therefore requested immediate intervention from the Meloni executive.

"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 protest is the failure to release the resources allocated already last May to counteract the expensive diesel "but which have not yet arrived" at their destination. Furthermore, "further allocations" are needed, given that the rise in diesel prices continues. From the beginning of the war to today there has been "an increase of more than 50 cents per litre", specifies the president of Conftrasporto. And the logistical crisis, which is affecting the distribution network, also due to the strike at the Taranto refinery, triggers a fuel emergency in Puglia and Calabria. The metalworkers' unions would have committed to removing the blockades, after the government's summons.

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, warns that "many companies risk stopping due to lack of fuel: from transport to infrastructure and construction".