Confindustria Catania: Sicilian road haulage to be suspended from 16 to 22 October

Sicilian road haulage companies will ground their vehicles from 00.01 on 16 October until midnight on 22 October. The decision, as announced by the Transport Section of Confindustria Catania, was ‘taken unanimously following months of institutional discussions which failed to produce the expected responses’. According to a statement, the protest is driven by “economic conditions that have become unsustainable”. The average monthly price of diesel for road transport recorded by Mase has risen by approximately 0.35 euros per litre compared with February, exceeding 2.16 euros in September. For a single heavy goods vehicle travelling 100,000 kilometres a year, the additional cost exceeds 8,000 euros over eight months. Confindustria points out that, for island-based businesses alone, this is compounded by the passing on of the costs of the ETS system and the fuel surcharges applied by shipowners: the same journey is hit twice.